魔女の冒険 Majo no Bouken
by koizumichii
Summary: Meet Satsuki Kiyomi, a silent but cheerful girl who secretly studies witchcraft. What will happen if one typical day, she's been found out by none other than Kikumaru Eiji while she and Broom-chan are talking? As everyone says, Curiosity Kills the Cat. Eiji x OC and slight RyoSaku.
1. I've been found out!

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

**Summary :** Meet Satsuki Kiyomi, a silent but cheerful girl who secretly studies witchcraft. What will happen if one typical day, she's been found out by none other than Kikumaru Eiji while she and Broom-chan are talking? As everyone says, Curiosity Kills the Cat.

_blah blah_ - **thoughts**

"blah blah" – **conversation**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer : <strong>

yu-chan (she's my bestest best friend) : I'll watch POT now. Ja!

me : Oh okie.. See ya. Ya know, I want to own Prince of Tennis, too!

yu-chan : Too bad it won't be yours. It's ONLY owned by Konomi-sensei. Face the truth mi-chan.

me: Okay fine! Hmmpp.. You're so mean!*pouts* somebody do the disclaimer please!

yu-chan : But this is the disclaimer we're talking about right now.

me: Oh sorry.. My bad.. :D anyways.. time to read, readers!

yu-chan : Bye bye nice meeting ya all..!

me : Go away!.. They're starting to read the story! *drags her backstage*

yu-chan : You're so mean mi-chan.. T_T

me : Okay okay.. *clearing of throat* CORRECTION.. you're mean too! we're just the same! XD Anyway..please go on and read.. Ja ne.. See you at the end of this chapter..

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><p><strong>Chapter One – I've Been Found Out!<strong>

The bright rays of the morning sun tickled a certain girl's face. She stirred, trying to sleep again when suddenly, her alarm clock began ringing loudly. Too loudly I say. Her hand reached for it and turned it off, and she began to tucked herself under the warmth of her blanket.

A voice suddenly spoke. "Yomi-sama, wake up now or else you'll be late for school!"

"Mmmm.. 30 minutes more." Kiyomi said, ducking deeper under the covers.

"No more! Wake up now, or else.. I'll throw you a bucket of mud water." The voice threatened.

"Okay okay. I'm awake now!" Kiyomi said, suddenly bolting up and letting out a yawn. Then, she turned on her side to see a magical talking broomstick (with cute chibi eyes and mouth) wiggling side to side as if to greet her good morning as well.

"Ohayou, Broom-chan" Kiyomi greeted her companion with a smile. Broom-chan returned her greeting and gave her a bath towel, telling her to get ready for school now or else she'll be late. Kiyomi just nodded and proceeded inside the bathroom.

**Kiyomi's P.O.V**

_Mou, I want to sleep for another hour. Why does school have to be so early! Ugh._ I thought irritatedly before turning on the shower and taking my bath. Oh yeah. I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Satsuki Kiyomi. Yomi-chan as a nickname. Class 3-6 at Seishun Gakuen. I have mint green hair that reached 2 inches below my shoulders and light tangerine eyes. I'm gonna tell you a secret. Shhh~ Don't tell anyone, ne? I'm actually studying witchcraft with Broom-chan as my tutor. Eh? what is it? Oh, Broom-chan. She's the 'talking broomstick' earlier. Anyway, my parents don't know this and even my friends. I'm afraid that they'll misinterpret it and think of me as a bad girl. You see, I'm really quiet in school, I don't talk much except when I'm with my close friends but I'm a cheerful type of person. You can even ask my close friends for proofs. Anyway, I have to finish my bath now or else I'll be late for school. Yikes!

**End of P.O.V**

"Yomi-chan! Breakfast's ready!" Her mom yelled from the kitchen, setting out pancakes on the plates and putting maple syrup on them.

"Hai!" Kiyomi yelled back fixing her green uniform and tying her mint green hair with two pink ribbons on the sides. When she's finished, she instantly grabbed her schoolbag and proceeded downstairs.

"You have to hurry dear, only 15 minutes left before school starts. Oh and by the way, here's your bento." Her mother reminded her.

"Hai.. Hai.. *munch*" Kiyomi replied, eating hurriedly. Then, she got the bento and her schoolbag, saying an 'Ittekimasu' before going outside. She hurriedly run to Seishun Gakuen.

"Oh no! I'll be late! What to do! What to do!" Kiyomi chanted while running, hoping that she can stop time. Then, a comical light bulb appeared on her head, signaling a sudden idea.

"Ah! I can just ride Broom-chan! Hehe" She murmured happily. _But How!_ She paused.

_Ah I know! _

Kiyomi looked around to see if someone was in sight. Good thing, no one's around.

_How lucky! _

She then whipped out a wooden wand from her bag, waved it around (magical colors of light following the tip of it) and chanted:

_"The transportation I call upon thee_

_Broom-chan come to me!"_

Kiyomi then placed the wand back inside her bag. She waited for Broom-chan. And waited. More waiting. Ten minutes have passed, still waiting. AND WAITED!

"Argh! That's it! Maybe she's sleeping AGAIN! Damn it! I'm so late!" She said in frustration, and just continued to walk.

_What's the point of running? I'm late anyway_.

* * *

><p>Finally, Kiyomi reached her classroom. When she arrived, stares followed her every move. Good thing the teacher went out for an 'important' meeting. She went to her seat (that is in front of the smiling tensai, beside the window) and the stares finally left her.<p>

She whipped out a book and began to read. It is about witchcraft which Broom-chan and she studied last night (but didn't finish because it's going late). Everyone went to their own businesses, like chatting with their seatmates. Nobody seems to mind her, even with the usual 'good morning greeting', there is none.

_I'm so lonely. *sighs* I wish Nana-chan and Chiharu-chan are here. Hmm. Stop thinking of those again Kiyomi! Just focus on what you're reading before sensei arrives. Hmmm.. let's see. Umm.. The witchcraft symbols are the pentagram, the crescent moon, the triple goddess, the antlers or horns, the wheel of the year, the cross, the witch runes, the spiral, and the triangle. _

_The pentagram symbolizes the five elements (Spirit, Air, Fire , Water, Earth) and it is a witchcraft symbol for protection. _

_The crescent moon is the __witchcraft symbol of the Goddess, and is usually worn only by women. This is a symbol of female fertility, and the ability of women to create life. _

_The triple goddess is Another Lunar symbol. It shows the moon in three of its four phases, waxing, full, and waning. It is usually warn as a circlet on the brow, and denotes the woman as a Priestess. _

_The antlers or horns is a masculine symbol of the God. The silver is the color of the women and the gold is the color for the men. _

_The wheel of the year symbolizes the cycle of the year. The significance of the wheel is that there is no beginning or end, it is continual. The cross is a symbol of balance and the witch runes are the forms of writing that witches can employ for symbolism, secrecy, or __divination. The spiral, __just what its meaning was, is unknown. To Witches, it is a __Witchcraft __symbol of the Goddess. It's also symbolic of the journey of life. The triangle a purely feminine symbol. The three points represent the Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother, and Crone. It is a symbol of strength. Hmm.. so that's the symbols of witchcraft. Interesting. _

Kiyomi pondered on and on while reading the book.

* * *

><p>"Ne Fuji, do you know what her name is?" Eiji asked suddenly to his smiling friend, his index finger pointing to the girl in front of Fuji, who's reading a somewhat ancient book.<p>

"Hmm.. Then just ask her." Fuji replied, still smiling as always.

"Okay then. Let's change seats first." Eiji suggested. The tensai just nodded and the two exchanged seats. Kiyomi didn't notice it because she's so engrossed in reading the book.

Out of the blue, Eiji poked her back. Kiyomi, startled by this, dropped the book on the floor. She quickly grab the book and put it under her desk. She then faced the 'person' who poked her.

Kiyomi was faced with a stupidly smiling Eiji.

"Hoi hoi! Ne, ne, what's your name?" Eiji asked.

"…."

Kiyomi just stared blankly at him.

_Who's a person in the right mind doesn't know the name of a classmate when in the middle of the school year? Even the last name will do! But nooo, this 'random person who poked my back' simply doesn't know me. Now, I feel so damn lonely again!  
><em>

"…Tell me" Eiji said.

"…."

Again, Kiyomi just stared blankly at him. Light tangerine eyes continued to look into a very eager face. After several seconds, she turned her back to him, continuing to read her book.

"~NYA! You're so rude!" Eiji said quietly but loud enough for her to hear. Again, he and Fuji exchanged seats.

The smiling tensai just chuckled merrily.

_His sadist personality doesn't fit his looks. Oh well, looks really are deceiving. _Kiyomi thought while reading the book. Their sensei finally arrived, so she kept it inside her bag. She'll not take the chance that someone might see it and spread the news that she studies witchcraft. Never in her life!

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><p><strong>-Rooftop (Lunch Time)-<strong>

"Yay! No one's here! Finally I can eat in peace. Too bad I can't find Nana-chan and Chiharu-chan. Oh well. Itadakimasu!" Kiyomi said cheerfully, feeding herself with tamagoyaki.

"Ah oishi! Mom's cooking is so delicious!"

"Yomi-sama!" A voice yelled.

"Eh? There's someone calling me but there's no one around." Kiyomi said, worriedly glancing side to side.

"I'm here." The voice said, landing in front of Kiyomi.

"Broom-chan!" Kiyomi called happily. "Wanna eat with me?" She offered.

"Ah no thanks Yomi-sama, I just came here to apologize for not coming earlier. I overslept again." Broom-chan chuckled. The two was so engrossed on their conversation that they didn't hear the soft click of the rooftop door.

"Nah it's fine. When I arrived, Sensei's not in the classroom. And, how many times do I have to tell you, just call me Yomi-chan." Kiyomi reminded her.

"Ah, hai. Hai. Anyway, you have to buy the ingredients for the flying potion you'll be making tonight." Broom-chan reminded her.

"AAHHHH! A TALKING BROOMSTICK!" Someone yelled

Their eyes widened.

Kiyomi and Broom-chan turned their gazes to the entrance of the door. There they saw, Kiyomi's classmate, the one who poked Kiyomi's back earlier. None other than. Kikumaru Eiji!

**Oh the Horror! **

**~End of Chapter**

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><p><strong>AN : **Chapter done! Haha.. A cliffhanger! Please tune in to the next chapter minna. Oh and, I'll not update if this fic if I won't receive 4-5 reviews. So please. Please! Review!

Anyway.. So how was it? Is it okay? Is it bad? Please tell me.. But please be kind on reviewing. Please don't flame as much as possible. (^o^)

Oh yeah! The title means **'A Witchy Adventure'** .. I preferred the Romanji and Kanji as the title though. And umm.. this fic will be an Eiji X OC fic. But I think I'll put some RyoSaku, too!

If you have some questions and suggestion for this fic, feel free to ask and tell me. And for the errors too..

Thank You for Reading! Don't forget to Review okay?

~Ja ne!


	2. My New Friend & the Tensai's Curiosity

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer : <strong>I do not own the characters of POT only the plot okay. I'm too lazy to think of a dialogue for the disclaimer. BUT I promise next chapter will have! *winks*

_**~Recap:**_

"AAHHHH! A TALKING BROOMSTICK!" someone yelled

Kiyomi and Broom-chan turned their gazes to the entrance of the rooftop door. Their eyes widened. There they saw, Kiyomi's classmate, the one who poked Kiyomi's back earlier. None other than. Kikumaru Eiji!

**Oh the Horror! **

_**~End**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two – My New Friend &amp; the Tensai's Curiosity<strong>

Kiyomi hurriedly took hold of Broom-chan, hiding it behind her back.

"What talking broomstick are you talking about? You're just hallucinating." She said.

"~NYA! But, but. I saw it and heard it!" Eiji said back, not believing an inch of her excuse.

"I told you, you ARE hallucinating!" Kiyomi responded, slightly angry.

"There's no use arguing Yomichan-sama, that boy is just so persistent." A voice said behind Kiyomi's back, revealing itself as the 'talking broomstick' Eiji mentioned earlier.

"See, I'm not hallucinating ~nya!" Eiji said happily.

"He will believe later if you haven't talk, Broom-chan! Look, I've been found out, and if everyone knows about this, they'll be looking at me with those stares that seem to devour my soul at any minute! Ugh!" Kiyomi replied feeling frustrated.

"But I thought that he will not tell anyone of what he saw and heard in the past few minutes, trust me Yomichan-sama." Broom-chan said, assuring her.

"Broom-chan is right, Onna-chan. I won't tell anyone if you're keeping it as a secret ~nya!" Eiji also assured her.

"R-really?" Kiyomi asked, her face turning into a cute one but she doesn't realize it.

_/ Kawaii / _

"Ah hai, of course."

"Yokatta! Arigatou Kikumaru-kun! Hear that Broom-chan, your senses are really accurate as ever!" Kiyomi said laughing whole heartedly as she talked to Broom-chan.

"Good thing you know my name but umm.. Can I ask for your name please." Eiji asked her.

"To be honest, it's really rude if people don't know the names of their classmates you know. Even the last name will do. As to answer your question, I'm Satsuki Kiyomi, but maybe you can call me Yomi-chan, if you want to. A-anou….we're friends now right?" Kiyomi asked him, trying not to sound so hopeful.

"Of course Yomi-chan! But just call me Eiji. It sounds so formal if you call me by my last name ~nya!" Eiji agreed.

"Yomichan-sama, you have to finish your lunch now. The bell will ring soon. Here, Eiji-sama you can have some onigiri, too." Broom-chan reminded Kiyomi, while handling two onigiri to both Kiyomi and Eiji. The two of them, ate the onigiri.

"I told you Broom-chan, just drop the –sama honorific." Kiyomi again told Broom-chan.

"Gomen Yomichan-sama but that will not happen. It is expected that us, the twiggy broomsticks, who tutor beginner witches like you have to call you and your friends with respect-" Broom-chan began to talk again with the tone of when she lectures Kiyomi at night. And Kiyomi knows that this talk will lead to a MUCH MUCH longer conversation.

"A-anou, Broom-chan we'll be going now. There's something I have to do in the classroom." Kiyomi said, packing her bento.

"Hai Yomichan-sama, and I have something to do to. And don't forget to buy the ingredients later after school, we need it remember?" Broom-chan reminded her.

"Of course. I won't forget it. Well then, we'll be going now. See you later Broom-chan." Kiyomi bid goodbye to the now flying Broom-chan.

"And nice meeting you, Broom-chan!" Eiji yelled, he then turned to Kiyomi. A slight shade of red can be seen on his cheeks.

"Ne, can I accompany you later?" he asked her.

"Eh? Accompany for what?" Kiyomi asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

"Anou, when you'll buy the ingredients." Eiji answered.

"Oh that. Of course you can. I'll be happy to take you as a company, Eiji-kun!" Kiyomi smiled brightly.

"Yay! Arigatou Yomi-chan. But what are the ingredients for?" He questioned after the idea pop onto his head.

"Gomen, I forgot to explain. Tehee. I'll be making a potion this evening. A flying potion actually. But it's just an experiment." Kiyomi replied.

"Sugoi ~nya! If it's successful can you give me a sample ~nya?"

"Mmm.. Of course!"

**-Lunch Bell Rings- (signifying the End of Lunch)**

"That's the bell. Let's go shall we?"

"Hai.. Hai."

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><p><strong>-Classroom-<strong>

Kiyomi and Eiji entered the classroom, chatting happily. Curious stares followed them as they take their respective seats but the two was oblivious to this.

"Fujiko! You won't believe me! Yomi-chan is actually a-" Eiji said, as he glomped the Tensai but he didn't finish the sentence because Kiyomi glared at him very hard.

"-good person." He laughed nervously. The glare however didn't escaped the Tensai's eyes.

_/ I think Satsuki-san has a secret that she doesn't want anybody to find out. Too bad. I will know it very soon._ /

"Saa Eiji, I guess you've been good friends with Satsuki-san." Fuji said to him.

"Ha—Eh? You know her name? Hmmpp.. Not fair Fujiko! I ask you what her name is but you didn't tell me.." Eiji pouted as the tensai just chuckled.

_/ He's so lucky. He got the tensai as his bestfriend. Makes me envious. / _Kiyomi thought again while making circles on a piece of paper to pass the time.

_~Remember Yomi-chan, you're not here to make friends.~_

A group of words appeared on the piece of paper.

_/ Eh? You can read my mind? /_ Kiyomi asked mentally.

_~Of course, I came from the Magical World remember?~_

The paper answered-slash-written back.

/ _Oh yah! I forgot. Broom-chan gave you to me as a bored ness-lifter and if I needed someone to_ _talk to. I think I accidentally got you from my bag instead of ordinary paper. /_ Kiyomi slap her forehead.

_/ She's really weird, suddenly slapping her forehead like that. /_ Her seatmate thought, after accidentally glancing at her.

**-The Subject Teacher Enters-**

_/ I have to keep you now. I'll be taking notes for today's lesson. Talk to you later, Paper-san. / _Kiyomi mentally bid her goodbye.

_~Okay then, Yomi-chan. Ja. Always remember what I told you earlier.~_

And Kiyomi keep Paper-san inside her bag.

* * *

><p><strong>-Start of Lesson-<strong>

Eiji can't take off the feeling that Kiyomi might be angry at him and he doesn't want that.

_/ I know! I'll just pass a note. / _

When Hanagisawa-sensei turned his head to the other direction, Eiji passed the note to Fuji. Eiji pointed to the busy-writing Kiyomi. Fuji gently touched her shoulder, when Kiyomi turned around, he give her the note. Kiyomi curiously opened the note. When she opened it, a chibi neko first caught her attention.

_Yomi-chan are you mad at me because of earlier?  
>Gomen ne. I didn't mean to tell Fujiko ~nya.<em>

_-Eiji_

_Of course not. ^^ it's fine, just don't do it again, okay?  
>You promised not to tell anyone remember?<em>

She passed the note again to Fuji. Fuji, being the _curious _sadistic tensai, opened the note. But before he could read it Eiji snatched it away, sticking his tongue out to the tensai.

_/ Maa… Such fast reflexes…. / _

Eiji breathed a sigh of relief. The tensai passed a note to him.

_Saa, what secret are you and Satsuki-san keeping, Eiji?  
>You will tell me, ne?<em>

Eiji sweatdropped. He can feel the sadist's aura as if it was coming out of the paper.

_Oh it's nothing Fujiko.  
>We're not keeping any secret..<br>Nothing at all..!_

_Hmmm… so you're not going tell me?  
>But I'll know it soon… :P<em>

Eiji silently laughed nervously…and the tensai….just smiling as usual, but if you look closely, you'll notice that he's smiling sadistically. And just like this, the lesson continued as the two pass notes.

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><p><strong>-After School-<strong>

"Let's go Yomi-chan." Eiji said to Kiyomi.

"Don't you have tennis practice?" Kiyomi wondered.

"Nope, Ryuzaki-sensei gave us a day to rest." Eiji answered her.

"I see."

The two of them then left the classroom. Fuji keeps on wondering what the two will be doing. He noticed that they are always together since lunch.

* * *

><p><strong>-At the Store-<strong>

"Storekeeper-san, do you have some beeswax and cocoa butter?" Kiyomi asked.

"Of course. It's somewhere in those shelves." The storekeeper said, pointing in the shelves.

Kiyomi and Eiji looked for it. They were placed in tight-lid small round jars, maybe for preserving. As the two of them were searching for it earlier, Kiyomi came across two racks of container. Each of them has a label of what flower essences and essential oils they are. She took four containers of flower essences: lotus, chamomile, rose, and poppy & two containers of essential oils: sandalwood, and jasmine. She went looking for Eiji, she found him near the far off, first shelf.

"Eiji-kun, there you are. What have you been doing?" Kiyomi asked, looking over on what is Eiji is looking.

"Ah! The Lavender herbs! Thanks for finding them for me, Eiji-kun." She said, taking three stems of it.

"You're welcome Yomi-chan, let's pay now. I wanna eat huwa-huwa (soft) omelet and puri-puri fried shrimps made by okaa-chan.." Eiji said happily.

"Hai, hai…I'm hungry, too."

As soon as Kiyomi paid for the ingredients, the two of them walk home together, visiting the pet shop courtesy of Eiji.

**~End of Chapter**

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><p><strong>AN : **Gomen, if I haven't updated for how many months. XD I've been busy with school. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and please leave a review, for the grammatical errors, spelling errors and suggestions and comments and etc.. Don't worry **RyoSaku moments** will appear next chapter or on chapter four.

~and special thanks to **DarkContessa **for becoming my beta reader and for reviewing of course and to **yu-chan** for reviewing also.

**To DarkContessa :** I'm sorry if I have posted this now. It's because you didn't reply to my PM messages yet, so I decided that I will post this now. (I can't wait XD ) Next chapter I will make sure you'll correct my grammar. And I hope that you can post your stories soon. ^_^

**~Please Review Minna! Thank you! ;D**


	3. Trouble

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

**A/N : **Mou. My Beta Reader hasn't log in yet so sorry about the grammatical errors and stuff. Haha, I just noticed…I really have grammatical errors in chapter 1 & 2… I learned my lesson. I'll re-read it after typing! But, But! I hope you like this chapter, ne? I really have fun writing this! ;D And I change the name of the world where Broom-chan came from, it's now called the **Mahou no Majo Realm **(Magical Witch Realm). _MMR_ or just _Realm_ for short. Hmm..about the RyoSaku scenes...maybe it will appear in the future chapters...I'm not sure in what chapter, maybe when Kiyomi finally met the regulars.. who knows? ;D just keep on reading~!

_/ blah blah_ / - thoughts

"blah blah" – conversation

**Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi**

_**Recap:**_

As soon as Kiyomi paid for the ingredients, the two of them walk home together, visiting the pet shop courtesy of Eiji.

_**~End**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Three – Trouble<strong>

**-8 P.M, Kiyomi's Bedroom-**

"Yomichan-sama, I'll be away for a week. I have to return to the Realm tonight. There are things I have to do there. But, even though I'm away, don't forget to study your lessons. And work on your potions. I _will_ check it when I get back. Saa, I'll be going now. Oyasumi Yomichan-sama." Broom-chan said, going in the portal which suddenly appeared on the wall.

Bright light blinded Kiyomi for a second. And before she knew it, it was gone, leaving her all alone in her room.

"Hmmm…It will be kind of lonely if Broom-chan is not here. Oh well. I have to do now the flying potion. After all, I'll give Eiji-kun some of it."

Kiyomi took her wand inside the drawer. With one wave of it, her room changed in a potion-making style. Her bed changed into a wide table, with vial and containers on it. Many shelves appeared. The half for the potions and the other half for the books and the manuals. A black cauldron near her glass window appeared in which the moonlight shines. A full body mirror is also set near the table.

She wore a coat that is similar to a laboratory coat to protect her dress from blemishes. She then got the book entitled: **Flying Potions Volume 5 **and began reading its contents.

"Kiyomi, you forgot your -"

Kiyomi look at her mother in horror. Her mother had just discovered that she's a witch! Uh-oh!

"-books in the living room." Her mother finished. And then placed the said books in Kiyomi's table and took her leave as if she has seen nothing.

"Huh?" Kiyomi managed to say.

"Maybe Broom-chan cast a spell in the door if ever I will change my room. I'll just ask her when she gets back." Kiyomi shrugged and began preparing the ingredients she and Eiji bought earlier.

-In the black cauldron, she added the lavender herbs in the boiling water. Three drops of lotus and poppy flower essences were soon added plus 1/3 cup of cocoa butter, too. Kiyomi began stirring it counter clockwise with a ladle. After several seconds, she took a glance to the recipe book. After thirty seconds of stirring, the Cinquefoil & Hemp herbs were also mixed. After the one tablespoon of beeswax, rose and chamomile essences were soon added (two drops of it).

/ _Oh! I need to chant this spell ./_

"Ancient Moons, lend me your power.  
>Bring me peace this very hour.<br>I call upon your strength & might,  
>Bless me success on this secret night."<p>

_/ I then shall add two drops of each __essential oil (sandalwood and jasmine) to it. And start stirring again for another 15 seconds & it will be done! /_

"Phew! Finally, I'm done!" Kiyomi said, pouring the content of the newly-made potion in a vial. She then placed it on a test-tube like rack after labeling it. She also placed the recipe book back on the shelf.

_**Snap! **_

Kiyomi snapped her fingers….but… nothing happened.

_/ Mou…And I actually thought I'd finally learned the snapping spell Broom-chan taught me. /_

She sighed but was then followed by a yawn. One wave of her wand brought her bedroom back. She threw herself on her bed & instantly went to dreamland.

* * *

><p><strong>*-Next Morning-*<strong>

Kring! Kring! Her alarm clock practically jumped due to annoyance but Kiyomi doesn't have any plans to wake up.

"Ugh…Shut up, clock-san!" She groaned and hit the alarm clock with a pillow. Silence ensued.

**-Minutes Later-**

"Gyaaa! I'll be late!" She said, bolting up and began preparing her quick bath.

_/ Maybe, I should make a potion to make my alarm clock come to life and I should learn the time freezing spell, too. /_ Kiyomi thought.

After taking a bath, she quickly changed to her Seigaku uniform. She took her wand and stuffed it inside her school bag and proceeded downstairs.

"Ohayou kaa-chan~!" She greeted happily as she sat in front of the table and then began eating her breakfast which consists of okayu (rice porridge) with natto (fermented soy beans) on top. For the side dishes, tamagoyaki (japanese rolled omelet) with grated daikon radish on the side & umeboshi (pickled ume plums) that were cooked by her mother, Satsuki Ayame.

"Ohayou, dear. Last night, I brought your books in your room. I placed it in your table. Odd, I thought I saw a different scenario but in the blink of an eye, all I saw was your room. And I found you in your bed, fast sleep." Her mother told her in a thinking expression.

"Ummm…Maybe you're just tired kaa-chan, that's why you're seeing things." Kiyomi convinced her mother.

"Hehe…Maybe you're right, dear."

As Kiyomi finished her breakfast, she glanced at the clock. It's 8:15 A.M.!

_/I have to hurry! Only fifteen minutes more before the bell rings./_

"Gochisousama. I have to go now, kaa-chan. Your cooking is as delicious as ever.!" Kiyomi said, running out of the door after kissing her mother on the cheeks and saying "Ittekimasu!"

As she started her merry walk to school, she saw the brunette tensai and the acrobatic player of Seigaku's tennis team in the distance. They were looking at something at the bush. Out of curiosity, she went to them and also took a look at the bush.

"meow~!"

_/ Oh it's a kitten. It's color is snow white with chocolate brown spots, how cute! / _She picked it up and cuddled it.

"Hoi Hoi! It's Yomi-chan! Ohayou ~nya! You like cats, too?" Eiji asked.

"Hai." Kiyomi nodded.

"Looks like someone abandoned it here." Fuji guessed.

"Oh! Ohayou gozaimasu. Gomen. I forgot to greet you two a good morning." Kiyomi smiled.

"No need to apologize, Satsuki-san"

"Ne..ne, what should we do? Little neko here can't be left alone. She's too little for the adventures of life ~nya!" Eiji voiced out his concern as he pet the little kitten's head.

"I'll take care of her." Kiyomi volunteered.

"But the teachers won't let you bring it to class." Eiji reasoned.

"Saa, we can just not tell them, ne? And beside they are not checking our bags." Fuji said.

"Sou. Demo, I'll still bring her to the infirmary. Nurse-san can take care of her for awhile."

"Then let's go now, ~nya!" Eiji picked up the kitten from Kiyomi's grasp and proceeded to walk ahead.

"Eiji is so full of energy, ne?" Fuji started a conversation.

"Sou desu." Kiyomi said.

"And you're such a silent person Satsuki-san."

Kiyomi choose not to answer him. She just kept her stare ahead.

_/ Sometimes, he's so nosy about others. I have to remind myself to be careful around him. Hmmm…and being nosy is contagious, too. / _Kiyomi smiled as she stared at the red haired & the tensai's back. Apparently, the brunette joined his teammate after she didn't answer his previous statement.

When the three of them reached the Seigaku grounds, Kiyomi excused herself and went to the infirmary with the little kitty in her arms. The two (Fuji and Eiji) went ahead to their class. Eiji wanted to go with her but Kiyomi insisted to go alone.

* * *

><p><strong>-Infirmary-<strong>

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Satsuki-san. What can I do for you?" The nurse asked when Kiyomi opened the door.

"Ah, ohayou to you, too, Nurse-san. Can you.. ummm…look after this little neko here for a while.? I found it at the bush earlier and I can't have the heart to live it there all alone. I promise I'll get her after school." Kiyomi clasped her hands together.

The nurse chuckled. "It's been awhile since you ask me a favor. Sure. I'll look after her. And I'll feed her too."

"Domo Arigatou~! I'll go now, nurse-san..Ja ne!" Kiyomi bowed and went out of the infirmary.

* * *

><p><strong>~Class 3-6<strong>

As the sliding door opened, Kiyomi noticed that no teacher is in sight inside their classroom.

"Ne, where's sensei?" She asked the tensai after reaching her seat.

"He hasn't come in yet."

"Oh."

"Yomi-chan! How's neko-chii?"

"She's fine, Nurse-san will feed her for the meantime."

After Kiyomi answered the question, Eiji pulled her into the corner.

"Ne, have you finished the flying potion ~nya?"

This question came in a whisper. Again, curiosity struck Fuji but instead of forcing the redhead to tell him their secret, he just let them talk.

_/ I think their conversation is so important but I do wonder, when and why did they become so close. / _

"Hai,though…I didn't know the results just yet. Broom-chan was away. She went to the realm last night and she said that she'll be back after a week."

"Realm?"

"Yup, it's the name of the magical world, Mahou no Majo realm. It's also where Broom-chan and the other witches live. I went to that place once, but never had the chance to go there again. It's really cool there though I haven't remembered some of the scenery. Ya know, the sparkling rivers there taste like soda, with different flavors that depend on your mood. It's really delicious! And you can eat the clouds too. Haha, I really miss that place so much."

"Awww..I want to go there too, ~nya.. It sounds like a fun place! Ne, can I try the flying potion, can I..can I?"

"Demo…"

"Onegai..~nya" Eager eyes kept on staring at Kiyomi.

"Fine, but don't blame me if something happens to you." Kiyomi replied sounding unsure.

"Hai, hai! I want to experience flying in the wind, too~" Eiji grinned.

"Okay then, I'll give it to you later at recess." She smiled.

"Let's go to the rooftop again ~nya" Eiji suggested.

"Hai.!"

The two of them then took their seat. Same things were being done by their classmates. Minutes later, their sensei arrived and the lesson proceeded.

* * *

><p><strong>-Time Skip: Rooftop (Recess)-<strong>

Kiyomi managed to sneak out the wand from the eyes of her classmates. Eiji followed her later. If they went to the rooftop together, it will surely raise suspicions.

"Let my spell be spread on air.  
>Nothing may my wish impair.<br>Open the door for me.  
>As I chant, so mote it be."<p>

Eiji watched in amusement as Kiyomi chanted and waved her wand like an aesthetic witch. Soon, a wooden entryway magically appeared in front of them.

"Sugoi, ~nya" Eiji exclaimed, as the potion room came into view when Kiyomi opened the door.

"Let me find the flying potion first, you can roam around if you want." Kiyomi said, walking to a table and looking at the labels of the vials in a rack. She carefully examined it before proceeding to the next one.

"I can?"

"Of course, suit yourself. Just be careful on handling some of the potions, okay."

The red-haired lad looked at each paraphernalia he came across. He keeps on saying, 'sugoi', 'kakoi', et cetera. To sum it up, he acts like a five-year old kid who went to the amusement park for the first time.

_/ Too many books, I feel like when I will turn it to the other page, it's going to be ripped easily. Hmm…Let's see what's Yomi-chan's doing ~nya. / _ He stopped his merry tour after several seconds. His last destination? Oh, just across Kiyomi (in the table).

"I'm sure it's beside these." He heard Kiyomi mumbled. Out of boredom (& partly curiosity), he found himself examining the vials, too.

_/ This one looks like strawberry juice. And it says, 'Drink Me and Know' / _Eiji picked a random vial, he sniffed it after taking off the wooden cap.

_/ Smells like pancakes ~nya. / _

After that thought, he placed it back. He's going to pick another vial again…but…

"Mou…I somehow got the urge to drink that so badly." He mumbled and picked it up again. He averted his gaze to his mint-haired companion.

She's still busy looking at the rack, on the other side of the table by this time. Without any other thoughts, Eiji gulped it down.

_/ It doesn't taste that bad, though it really has a weird taste. /_

"I finally found it, Eiji-kun." Kiyomi said happily. She showed him the vial having the label, **Flying Potion = Experimental. **She blinked. Twice. Thrice.

"Why do you suddenly have whiskers?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Hontou?" Eiji began feeling the said whiskers near his mouth but soon started to lick his hand and rubbing it to his cheeks.

"And…why are you…acting like a cat?"

"~nya. But I always act like a cat."

"Yeah you do but not the physical actions like licking your hand. People in the right mind won't do that you know. What did you drink!" Suspicious eyes stared at Eiji.

"ummm…"

"what?"

"..It's the vial who says 'Drink Me and Know'."

"Nani! M-Masaka!...!" Kiyomi read the label on the rack to where the vial was placed. She face palmed.

"Potions that are placed on this rack are made with a purpose to turn humans or material things to animals…But…that, which you just drank is not yet fully ready. Just like the flying potion I have made last night. We don't know the effects and how long it will last. You see, we didn't try it to anything yet. Heck, I'm not the one who made that. Broom-chan did. As far as I know, no antidote is available yet. Mou." Kiyomi explained.

"Demo!" Eiji protested.

Kiyomi became more worried on the sight in front of her. Eiji slowly changed into a pink cat. But the bandaged on his cheek remained. [Just imagine the neko Eiji in the chibi tenipuri family.]

"Why are you so tall and big all of a sudden ~nya?"

Kiyomi heaved a sigh. "It's because you turned into a cat, Eiji-kun."

"EH!"

Neko Eiji looked in front of a mirror. "D-demo, why pink?"

"I don't know. Maybe, because of the color of the potion. You're such a pain sometimes, Eiji-kun."

"G-gomen. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, Yomi-chan." (slightly hurt)

"I know…Don't worry. I didn't mean it to sound bad. I guess I'll have to take care of you for the meantime." Kiyomi pet him in the head and smiled. Eiji unconsciously blushed.

Suddenly, neko Eiji run out of the rooftop door.

_/ I know this smell ~nya! It's eel sushi! /_

Kiyomi having no choice but to follow him, went out of the potion room door and closed it. Soon, it disappeared completely.

"Chotto!" She yelled and also run out of the rooftop.

Along the corridor, Eiji turned into a corner and so was Kiyomi.

"Fujiko! Give me eel sushi ~nya!" Eiji called after seeing Fuji holding some sushi. Apparently, Eiji forgot that he's a cat now. Fuji stared at neko Eiji like he just saw a paranormal activity in front of him.

"Saa,, I must be hallucinating. I heard this cat talk awhile ago. And I heard Eiji's voice."  
><em> But, a pink cat isn't normal at all. And it has a bandaged on its cheek like Eiji /_

"Oi, Eiji-kun! Stop running away! I have to change you back to normal you know." Kiyomi panted, not noticing Fuji.

"Demo, I smelled eel sushi ~nya. I want one." Eiji demanded.

"Saa...this cat is Eiji?" Fuji asked unsurely.

"Hai, I'm Eiji ~nya!" Eiji answered happily.

"No, he's not." Kiyomi argued.

"Don't worry Yomi-chan! Fujiko can be trusted."

Kiyomi sighed. _/ I have been found out again. Why is life so unfair? It's so frustrating. / _

"But how?" Fuji asked

"He, -pointing to Eiji accusingly- drank a potion because of curiosity. And it turned him to a cat." Kiyomi explained.

"Potion? You're a… witch?"

"Yup! She's a witch ~nya! Sugoi ne?"

"Demo, how will you turn back Eiji to normal?"

"I don't know yet, maybe I'll try to make an antidote tonight. That means, Eiji-kun can't play tennis for a while, Fuji-san."

"Eh! No tennis ~nya? But! But!"

"If Eiji can't play tennis, our teammates will notice it soon. We have no choice but to tell them what happened." The tensai suggested.

"Sou.." Kiyomi's face showed a worried expression.

"Daidyoubu, Yomi-chan. They are kind, too. They are not that bad, that's why they are our friends!"

"Arigatou, Eiji-kun, Fuji-san. Thanks for your help."

"Saa. This would be interesting. I had the chance to know your secret Satsuki-san." Fuji smiled.

_/ Somehow, I felt like this will be one of his blackmailing materials in the future. / _Kiyomi thought, sensing an odd aura coming out of the tensai. More like a sadistic thought is making its way to the tensai's mind.

"So! Everything's settled ~nya! Let's go back to class."

**~End of chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Btw, I have a message to all the authors out there.. Don't get discouraged and eventually stop writing your fanfics if someone just flame you. At least you're doing your very best to improve in writing. That's what matters.. ;D So, Ganbatte~!and to all reviewers out there...don't flame too much! It kind of hurt ya know.. ^^

&&& The link of the book and the wooden wand (the picture) is on my profile! Just check it out and see! Again~! Thanks for reading 魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**! Please do leave a review! *bows*

Matta ne~!


	4. Solution

魔女の冒険**Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

_Tenisu no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Recap:<strong>_

_/ Somehow, I felt like this will be one of his blackmailing materials in the future. / _Kiyomi thought, sensing an odd aura coming out of the tensai. More like a sadistic thought is making its way to the tensai's mind.

"So! Everything's settled ~nya! Let's go back to class."

_**~End**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four – Solution<strong>

"Tadaima, okaa-san," Satsuki Kiyomi said when she finally arrived home.

"Okaerinasai, dear. Oh! A cat again?" Satsuki Ayame asked her in reply, after noticing the pink cat in her arms.

"Hai, I found him in my way home earlier," Kiyomi responded.

"Just make sure you don't go crying to me when the owner wants neko-san back," Her mother smiled.

"Mou, I'm not doing that anymore," Kiyomi pouted.

Ayame chuckled, "of course, of course."

The mint-haired young lady pouted. Neko Eiji suddenly leapt up from her arms.

"You must be hungry, neko-san. You want some milk?" Ayame went into the kitchen and came back with a plate of milk.

"Nya~!" Eiji can't resist licking some of the plate's content.

_/ It's not that bad. /_

Kiyomi went up to her room to change in her house clothes. When she finished, she walked downstairs to check on Eiji. She found the redhead in the living room, idly looking at the photo frames in display. She lifted him up.

"Nya~ where's your father, Yomi-chan?" Eiji suddenly blurted out. He noticed Kiyomi's face turn sad.

"Gomen. Y-you don't have to answer me if you don't want to nya~."

"Nah, you don't have to apologize, Eiji-kun. I-I don't know where otou-san is. D-demo, okaa-san told me that he went to a faraway place when I was still young." Kiyomi's hands began stroking the photograph that shows her dad sitting in the green grass in the distance while she's waving at the camera.

"How about you, Eiji-kun? You lived with your father, right?" Kiyomi tried to change the subject.

"Hai, and with my mother, sisters, and brothers, too. Plus onee-san's dog and okaa-san's parakeet!"

"You really like animals, ne?" Kiyomi touched his nose.

"Mochiron~! I always look forward in going to the aquarium after school, when practice's over!" Eiji's eyes gleamed with cheerfulness.

"We can visit it tomorrow nya~!" he added instantly.

Kiyomi slightly laughed, "hai, hai!"

"Ne, where's neko-chan?" Eiji asked her.

"Nurse-san wanted to take care of her. She got fond of her as they spend time together earlier. She asked me if she can take care of neko-chan. I agreed, of course."

"But I thought you wanted to take care of her nya~."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll take care of the neko you for the meantime. It's hard to take care of two cats at the same time you know."

"Sou."

"Maa, help me on making your antidote. I finally remembered the title of the Recipe."

"Hai! Can I use your telephone?"

"Of course you can, but for what?"

"I have to call okaa-san nya~. She'll be worried if I just suddenly don't go home for a few days."

"Let's go to my room first. Okaa-san might hear you. I don't want her to find out that a talking cat really exists."

They both chuckled.

* * *

><p><strong>-Kiyomi's Room-<strong>

As both teens sat on the bed, Eiji dialed his home's number. When someone picked up…

"Moshi, moshi, Kikumaru Residence," The redhead heard his mother's voice.

"Okaa-san, Konnichiwa~. It's me Eiji."

"Oh, Eiji, why did you call?"

"Ano, I'll be away for a week."

"Away for a week? Why?"

"I'll be having a week-long sleepover at Fuji's house nya~. We're just for hanging out, I guess."

_/ A sleepover for a week? That's a bit exaggerated. Can't he think of a good excuse? /_ Kiyomi thought.

"Oh, okay then. Just don't go messing around Fuji-kun's things okay? Oh! What about your clothes?"

"Eto, I'll just get it?"

"Oh, okay then. Enjoy your sleepover, dear!"

"Arigatou, kaa-san!"

Kiyomi felt a large sweat drop form at the back of her head. She didn't even hear a suspicious tone from Eiji's mother.

"Your mother didn't get suspicious at all?"

"Iie, she's fine with it nya~. She's always trusted us and in turn we don't do anything to break her trust."

"Who'll get your clothes? You can't possibly get it with that appearance."

"Fuji-ko will get it."

"Fuji-san? He already knows that he'll get it?"

"Nope, I'll ask him tomorrow."

Kiyomi felt another sweat drop form. Her newly found friend really is a carefree person.

"We'll make the antidote today?" Eiji asked out of the blue.

"Hai, I'll begin now, actually."

A swift wave of the wooden wand turned the bedroom to the potion-making one.

"Just remember not to try anything, again." The mint-haired girl reminded the redhead.

"Hai," Eiji chuckled nervously. He sat himself above the table in which Kiyomi began to browse a pile of books.

"Can I do something to help nya~?"

"Just browse these books and look for the recipe entitled: _Animal Potion: Reverse._"

"Okay."

He stood on his two neko feet and got a forest green book. He began reading it, too.

**-Few Minutes Later-**

The acrobatic player stretched, "I'm already exhausted nya~! Mou, I give up!"

Light tangerine eyes stared at him. "You're tired already? Only a few minutes have passed, Eiji-kun!" Kiyomi sighed.

"I can't stand studying nya~!"

"We're not even studying."

"But we're reading books."

"It's not the same as studying, ya know."

"I just can't stand hanging around with books too much nya~."

Kiyomi sighed again. "Fine, do what you like."

"I can roam around?" Dark blue eyes sparkled.

"Yes, but not inside this room."

Eiji pouted. "Fine, I'll go to the kitchen. I'm kind of hungry nya~."

Before he finally exited the room, he glanced back to see that Kiyomi wore a pair of glasses with white wings on its both side.

"What's up with the glasses nya~?"

Kiyomi looked up. "I'm wearing it so that I can read the book's contents without using up much time. With this, I can just flip through the book and already know its contents within a matter of seconds."

"Sugoi~! I wanna try, too!"

"I don't have any spare ones. Wait, I thought you were going to the kitchen?"

"Oh yeah, hehe. Ja ne, Yomi-chan~!" The redhead finally disappeared out of the room.

Kiyomi smiled. _/ I really love his bubbly personality. Wait, love? Where did that come from? Mou, I must be getting exhausted, too. /_

She shook her head to drive away her previous thoughts. As she flipped the next page, a piece of rectangular paper dropped out. Curious to what it is, Kiyomi picked it up and read it.

_*Animal Potion: Reverse Recipe_  
><em>Accidentally placed at the Realm's Central Library.<em>  
><em>Just tell me if you need it.<em>  
><em>~ Broom-chan...<em>

Kiyomi suddenly stood up and exclaimed happily, "finally found it! Yatta! I'm finally going to visit the Realm again!"

* * *

><p><strong>-Before going to bed-<strong>

Kiyomi told the Neko Eiji about the Reverse Recipe. The redhead also felt happy.

"Yeah, Eiji-kun. It might take a week for you to be back to normal. But I'm not yet sure, demo…I hope it will be soon though."

"Sou! Sou! Can I go with you to the Realm nya~?"

"Eh? Go with me?"

"Hai!"

Kiyomi looked hesitant at first. / Hmm. Why not? /

"Sure, you can come along."

"Yay! Arigatou, Yomi-chan~"

"Let's go tomorrow night."

"Hai! I'm getting so excited nya~!"

"It's time to take your rest, Kiyomi-sama!" A voice suddenly said.

"Eh… Who's that?" Kiyomi looked around her room.

"Watashi, Alarm Clock-san!"

When Kiyomi averted her gaze to her bedside table, there she saw her alarm clock. It was talking animatedly while slightly jumping up and down in a gaily manner.

She blinked.

"How did you come to life so suddenly? From as long as I can remember, I haven't cast a spell on you at all."

"Neko-chan sprinkled some magic dust to me earlier."

Neko Eiji tried to escape out of the room by tiptoeing quietly...But...

"Neko-chan, you don't mean-...Eiji-kun! You meddled with the magic dust?"

He laughed nervously. "Ehehe… I got excited with that golden dust nya~. I just wanna know what it could do…Ehehe..." He raised a furry paw and rubbed the back of his neck in a rather comical manner.

Kiyomi sighed for the nth time this day.

"Oh bother, as long as it doesn't do anything so troubling again, I guess it's fine. But if something serious and dangerous happens again, I swear, I'll never let you inside my room ever again," she warned.

"Hai! Gomen."

"Anyway, where did you find the magic dust?"

"I found it beside the vial racks."

"Oh, maybe Broom-chan forgot to keep it hidden again. Where is it?"

"I returned it to its previous place ~nya."

"Oh okay then."

**-Kring...Kring...Kring...-**

"Hai, hai, we're going to sleep now."

"Chotto, Kiyomi-sama. You're not going to inanimate me?" The alarm clock asked her.

"Ah, no need. Just wake me up so I won't be late in the mornings, ne?" Light tangerine eyes closed in an upside-down u shape.

"Hai! A-Arigatou, Kiyomi-sama!"

"Oyasumi, then. Oh and one more thing. Just call me Yomi-chan."

"As you wish. Oyasumi and sweet dreams, Yomi-chan," Her alarm clock whispered.

Kiyomi reached for her light switch and turned it off. When she went under her bed sheet covers, she noticed Eiji had already positioned himself in a cat-like sleeping pose. She patted his head and then adjusted the bed sheet to also provide him with warmth.

"Oyasumi, Eiji-kun. Have a fun trip to dreamland tonight." Kiyomi smiled and then closed her eyes.

"Oyasumi, nya~," Eiji whispered back.

On the bedside table, lay Kiyomi's alarm clock, snoring lightly with a cute little bubble popping out of its chibi nose.

**~End of Chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Finally! I updated! XD I hope you like this chapter~ && I wanna apologize for taking so long to update & for my mistakes for this chapter. I finally able to edit the previous chapters but don't worry, I didn't change anything on it. I just polished the grammatical errors and stuff. You don't have to read it again. ;D

Oh! Actually, chapter 4 should be longer than this but the preceding events won't be appropriate for the title...hehe... I think I'll be able to update the next chapter this week or the next..since Eiji-kun's Birthday will be on Monday already. I don't have any idea for his one-shot birthday fic yet! XD

_Additional Info: The Golden Magic Dust_ – just by sprinkling these to any non-living material, it can be brought to life instantly. It is brought by Broom-chan from the Realm where sources of it can be found.

Oh..& of course...I wanna thank you those who reviewed and listed 魔女の冒険**Majo no Bouken** to their Alert and Favorite List. I love you folks~!

_**Be sure to leave a review, ne~**_


	5. Encounters

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

_Tenisu no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi_

* * *

><p><em><em><strong>Recap:<strong>__

"Oyasumi, Eiji-kun. Have a fun trip to dreamland tonight." Kiyomi smiled and then closed her eyes.

"Oyasumi, nya~," Eiji whispered back.

On the bedside table, lay Kiyomi's alarm clock, snoring lightly with a cute little bubble popping out of its chibi nose.

_**~End**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five - Encounters<strong>

Kiyomi woke up to the sound of peaceful breathing beside her. When she opened her light tangerine eyes, pink fur was the first thing to caught her eyes. Neko Eiji snuggled more closely to her warmth. Blushing, Kiyomi lifted herself from the bed covers. She can't go back to sleep at this case. Her eyes watched the pink cat as he curled himself under the covers, probably looking for another provider of warmth. When she glanced at her alarm clock (who's snoring lightly), it read 7:15 in the morning. Realizing it's still early to eat breakfast, she decided to soak in her bathtub first. The tap water might calm her fast beating heart and her overly blushing cheeks. The mint green haired young lady went inside her own bathroom, forgetting to locked the door...

Fifteen minutes after Kiyomi went inside the bathroom, Neko Eiji finally wakes up. He mumbled sleepily about tennis practice being so early in the morning before going inside the bathroom. Upon opening the door, he felt his cheeks warming up, 100%!

The young witch startled by Eiji's intrusion, stood there frozen in shock. She's just reaching for her bath towel (which requires her to stand up from the bathtub) in peace when Eiji came barging in.

"KYAAAA!" She let out a scream and instantly went back to the water, hiding her body from the intruder's eyes.

"EIJI-KUN, YOU PERVERT!" Kiyomi finally spat, throwing an empty bottle of shampoo to his direction, her face now flushed with both anger and embarrassment. The bottle hit the red head, effectively waking him up.

"GOMENASAI, YOMI-CHAN!" Eiji immediately ran out of the bathroom.

Neko Eiji repeatedly shook his head to clear the image of a half-naked Kiyomi he just saw. That's why he felt odd about having a bathroom of his own, he's not in his house! The acrobatic player heaved a sigh.

_/ But she sure have a nice body. -pause- Eiji! What the heck are you thinking! /_ He once again shook his head.

"I really need to apologize ~nya." Eiji sighed once again as a warm liquid began leaking out of his nose. Nosebleed!

When Kiyomi finally went out of her bathroom fully dressed..

"How did you get inside the bathroom?" She asked him, her cheeks were still red, Eiji observed.

"The door is slightly opened and I thought it was my bathroom."

"Whatever. I'm mad at you." Kiyomi declared, grabbing her school bag and then slamming the door shut.

"Ugh! He didn't even apologized." The young witch huffed and stormed off downstairs.

"Ohayou, dear. Goodness, what happened?" Ayame hadn't saw her daughter so angry before.

"Nothing, okaa-san." Kiyomi replied, a storm cloud existed above her head.

"If you say so. By the way, I heard you screamed earlier. Why?"

"It's nothing, okaa-san. Just got frustrated."

"I heard you say, Eiji-kun. Is that the name of your new cat?"

"Hai."

When the young witch finished her breakfast, she breathed in and out and then finally said and 'Ittekimasu'.

"Wait, dear. Won't you feed Eiji-kun? He must be hungry by now." Ayame reminded her daughter.

"I don't care. Just feed him. Ja ne." Kiyomi answered, annoyance clearly evident in her voice and then closed their front door.

* * *

><p>Satsuki Ayame noticed her daughter's cat, sitting just below the stair's first step. Sadness was evident in his dark blue orbs as his head hung low.<p>

"Eiji. What's the matter? You look so down." At the sound of his name, the redhead glanced up.

"nya~?"

"You don't have to be so secretive with me. I know you can talk and besides a cat with pink fur is just so out of the ordinary." Ayame winked.

The redhead was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"Let's say I have my ways. So back to my question. What's the matter? I noticed Kiyomi dear is so angry at you this morning."

"Well...I..uh..." Eiji answered, unsure. He can't tell Kiyomi's mother that he just saw her daughter half-naked, can he? Ayame suddenly lifted him up and began stroking his fluffy pink fur.

"You can tell me." Ayame assured him.

"Well...I...I saw Yomi-chan in the bathtub...half-naked. It was just an accident, I swear! I thought it...it was our family's bathroom so I just came in. And! And the door is slightly opened, too." The redhead panickly-slash-nervously explained. Ayame laughed, causing him to relaxed a bit.

"Here's the question, did you see something?"

"Well...uh...a little bit...But I didn't saw everything!" Neko Eiji blushed. Ayame once again laughed.

"You're just so cute." She commented and then added, "Then.. Have you apologized?"

"I forgot about that ~nya!" Ayame sweatdropped.

"You have to apologize, dear. She got angry because you didn't and you should explain yourself, too." Kiyomi's mother advised.

"Sou." Eiji mumbled.

"But...before you do that, you should eat first." Ayame smiled.

"Hai!" Neko Eiji beamed happily.

* * *

><p>Young witch Kiyomi finally reached her classroom. She noticed Fuji glancing outside the window with his smiley face.<p>

_/ I can give him the 'smiley' nickname, for sure. /_ She tried not to giggle because of the thought.

"Ohayou, Satsuki-san." He greeted.

"Ah..ohayou, Fuji-kun." Kiyomi greeted back.

"Saa..Did you bring Eiji, today?"

Kiyomi felt herself twitch

"We still need to discuss how to tell our teammates about his current state."

Another twitch.

"Saa. Where did you leave him for today, Satsuki-san?"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM!" Kiyomi replied, frustrated. A dark storm cloud once again loomed above her head. The tensai was taken aback.

"I don't care _anything_ about him." She said sharply and then stormed off out of the door. Then tensai just watched the young girl's back as she fade away.

_/ Did I say something wrong? /_ He began to wonder.

_/ Or maybe the name 'Eiji' just irritated her this morning? /_ At this thought, the tensai just chuckled.

A random girl student passed by their classroom. Seeing him, her eyes widened and she instantly gather her courage and went in front of the him.

"FUJI-SAMA! DON'T TELL ME YOU'VE GONE INSANE!" The girl, no mistake, is one of Fuji's fangirls, slammed her hand to smiley's desk.

"Maybe?" The tensai smirked, but kept his usual horseshoe eyes.

"FUJI-SAMA NO BAKA! WE CAN'T LIVE ON IF YOU'LL BE INSANE!" The girl whined while running away, crying.

_/ Tch. Fangirls these days. /_ He scoffed, averting his gaze to the window once again.

_/ It's entertaining to watch, though. /_

As soon as the bell rang, Kiyomi went back to her classroom. The tensai just observed the young witch as she resumed on reading a book. Probably borrowed from the library. It certainly looks like one of her books, ancient and old...and it give him the dusty feeling, too.

* * *

><p>Neko Eiji's excitement bubbled up inside him as he reached the Seigaku's grounds. He's going to see his school while everyone is so busy listening to lessons. How exciting! His four fury paws began to start their merry walk when he spotted his spiky-haired kouhai upon an opening in the doorway. It's their first subject in the morning, but his kouhai is so busy eating his bento (which is meant for lunch!) while their sensei's back is turned to them, he's using his textbook to hide his continuous eating, too.<p>

"That Momo! I want to eat, too." Neko Eiji watched enviously at his kouhai's bento in the distance. He brought himself beside Momo and began poking his kouhai's leg with his paw.

"~nya." _Translation: Give me food, Momo-chin_

Purple eyes averted to his place but was soon removed and the owner resumed to eating his affectionate (at least in his point of view) bento. Feeling frustrated for being ignored, the pink cat poked his kouhai a little harder. The dunk-smasher flinched. He can't eat in peace if this random cat just keep on poking him, hard.

"~nya. nya~." _Translation: Momo! Just give me food! -whines-_

"Shooo...Shooo. I don't have time for you, neko-chan. And...I can't share my food to you. There's just no way. Just no way." Momo once again resumed to his ever-so-loved eating time.

"~nya. Momo...you're so selfish..Your senpai have to punish you for that." Neko Eiji grinned mischievously. He began poking his kouhai, harder than the previous one. Seeing no reaction from him, he scratched Momo's lower leg (not that it hurt much. He just wanted to see his kouhai's uniform torn. Being friends with a sadist sure has side effects.)

"Ittai suyo!" (That hurts!) Momo suddenly bolted up, holding his scratched knee. He glared at the pink cat who just walked away innocently. He swear he just saw the cat stick its tongue out to him.

"Momoshiro Takeshi! How many times did I tell you not to eat in my class! You have to score better to my next test or else I'll fail you. The next time this happened again, I'll make sure you'll get detention for a week." Sensei threatened him. Trust me, their teacher got a little bit sensitive and frustrated this morning. Yeah, a little bit.

The purple-eyed dunk-smasher was permitted to seat after that, cursing the pink cat quietly. Now, he learned his lesson. Not just black cats bring out bad luck, pink cats too. Wait, did he just said pink cat? Pink cats don't exist. That's just so out-of-this-world...Or maybe the cat is an alien? What the heck!

**_~oOo~_**

After Neko Eiji's mischievous encounter with Momo, he found himself in front of Ochibi's classroom. Dark blue orbs started to scan the room as he finally spotted the tennis prince's silhouette. He noticed him grinning stupidly, his chin on his palm as he stared at the auburn girl's back.

"That's Ryuzaki-chan." The pink cat mumbled as he made his way to his two kouhai's desk.

_/ I'm playing matchmaker, for today. /_ Neko Eiji grinned. Yup, being friends with a sadist sure has side effects.

"~nya...~nya..." _Translation: I'll make Ochibi jealous._ The pink cat nuzzled to Sakuno's leg affectionately. Ryoma immediately snapped out of his dreamy trance as he glared at the random cat who just went nuzzling to Sakuno repeatedly.

"Oh..Hi, neko-chan." Sakuno began to pet Neko Eiji's head.

"You're so cute." The auburn girl smiled. The tennis prince just watched as he remember his fluffy Himalayan cat.

_/ I wonder if she'll like Karupin, too. /_

"Ne, Ryuzaki. You like cats?" Ryoma quietly asked. Sakuno looked at him and smiled.

"Of course, Ryoma-kun. I wish I can have one, too."

"You need tutoring, right? You can come over to my house this weekend if you want. I'll tutor you in English. And I'll show you my cat." Ryoma said, the last part was a mere whisper but Sakuno heard it because of their near distance.

"A-Arigatou, Ryoma-kun."

_/ Matchmaking Plan: Complete /_ Neko Eiji began his merry way going out of their classroom, he smirked.

"Echizen! Ryuzaki! Pay attention."

"Hai, sensei."

_/ Did that cat intended this to happen? Tch. Whatever. /_

_**_~oOo~_**_

Neko Kikumaru Eiji grinned happily for a job well done. He's sure Momo will be happy too that their Ochibi finally realized the romance department.

"I'll tell Fujiko about this..fufufu..." He once again grinned. A green bandanna caught his sight when he went near the vending machine.

"It's Kaidoh-chii!" The acrobatic player said happily as he went to Mamushi.

"~nya."

"Fssshhh...Go away, neko." Kaidoh blushed as Eiji nuzzled to him, too.

"~nya."

"Here, eat some. Fssshhh.." Viper offered him a piece of melon pan.

"~nya!" _Translation: Arigatou, Kaidoh-chii!_

Viper pet his head gently before walking away. "Fsshhh..Ja ne."

"Hmmm..I didn't know Kaidoh has a soft spot for animals...Fufufu...I wonder why people find him scary sometimes." Neko Eiji blinked as Mamushi disappeared in the corner.

"I should find my classroom now nya~. And I have to apologize to Yomi-chan, too." Neko Eiji then ascended up the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>-Class 3-6<strong>

"Psst...Fujiko...Psst..."The acrobatic player called silently the tensai. After a few seconds, the brunette finally looked his way and gestured him to come to his seat. Neko Eiji obeyed. Kiyomi didn't seem to notice him.

"Good, you're here now Eiji. I've been asking Satsuki-san about you but she never answered me. I think she got angry at you." The tensai said in a hushed tone as he placed the pink cat to his lap.

"She's still angry." The redhead mumbled to himself.

"Saa..You did something that upset her, right Eiji?"

"Yah."

"You didn't apologize, right?"

"Hai."

"Just as I thought."

Neko Eiji looked oddly at him and then rolled his eyes. "You're always right, aren't you?"

The tensai silently chuckled. "Saa..." He lowered Neko Eiji under his desk and nudged him to go to Kiyomi, after some nudging here and there, he finally obeyed.

"Ugh. Fine." The cat huffed.

_/ Why do I feel so nervous? /_

"Yomi-chan...Anou..." Eiji nervously began, he's fidgeting. Kiyomi looked at him and then resumed on writing notes. Seeing the girl will just ignore him, he jumped to her lap.

"Gyaaa! Pervert!" The young witch yelled (she became sensitive), throwing Neko Eiji to the floor. The pink cat lost consciousness due to the hard impact he received.

"Satsuki! What on earth are you-" Their sensei didn't even finished his sentence when Kiyomi started to shout again.

"NEKO-CHAN!" Realizing what she had done to her new friend, tears started to form at the corner of her eyes.

"Gomen...Gomenasai.." She apologized between sobs, as she hug Neko Eiji's body close.

"Sensei! I have to go to the infirmary. Gomenasai!" Before sensei could even tell her something, the girl ran out of the room.

**-Infirmary-**

"Another cat you found?" Nurse-san asked Kiyomi.

"Iie." The young witch finally calmed down after the school nurse assured him that Neko Eiji is just fine.

"~nya."

"Yokatta! You're finally awake, Eiji." His name came in a low whisper from the girl.

"If you want you can take him now. Just be careful, Satsuki-san."

"Thanks for the help, Nurse-san." Kiyomi bowed as she carried Neko Eiji in her arms, sliding the infirmary door close.

"Gomen, Eiji-kun. I hurt you. I didn't mean, too. Hontou ni gomenasai!"

"Nah, don't worry ~nya. I'm super fine! Daidyobou desho! And besides...I'm the one who should apologize. Gomen, Kiyomi-chan. I didn't mean what happened earlier to happen. I..I thought it was my family's bathroom. Gomenasai ~nya!"

"I'm sorry that I got angry at you, too. I just don't know what to do at that time and partly...because you didn't apologize to me. I...It's just that...Anou...I..I...Uh! Just forget it." Kiyomi blushed madly once again.

Neko Eiji laughed whole-heartedly. "You're so cute, Yomi-chan."

Kiyomi's blushing increased more and her pounding heart, too. "Whatever. Let's go back to class. Your tensai friend might be too worried about you."

"You forgive me now, right nya~?" Eiji asked.

"I'm still mad at you." Eiji looked at her sadly.

Kiyomi laughed. "Kidding! I'm just kidding, Eiji-kun."

Soon, Eiji joined in the laughing as they both walked to Class 3-6.

* * *

><p><strong>-Afternoon Practice-<strong>

_[The other members of the club went home. Only the regulars are left. They need to extend their practice time.]**  
><strong>_

"It's that cat! The baka neko who's the cause why sensei caught me eating earlier!" Momo half-yelled when he saw Neko Eiji walking behind the tensai.

"You're eating during class, Momo-senpai?" The tennis prince asked.

The dunk-smasher grinned sheepishly while rubbing the crook of his neck. "Yeah." Ryoma raised his eyebrow.

"Who's the girl, Fuji?" Taka can't help but ask after noticing Kiyomi behind the tensai, stroking the pink cat in her arms.

"Oh. This is Satsuki Kiyomi, my and Eiji's classmate."

"Oh, speaking of Eiji. Where had he gone? He didn't attend practice yesterday afternoon, and now, too." Oishi's eyebrows knitted in confusion. He's worried again, too worried.

"I'm right here, everyone!" The pink cat jumped out of Kiyomi's arm and began standing on his two feet, hands oh his waist. "Watashi Kikumaru Eiji, ~nya!" He winked.

A tumbleweed slowly blew by.

"The cat talked." Momoshiro said, his soul went near to hanging out of his body.

"And said he was Eiji." Oishi just stared.

"How exactly did this happen?" They heard Inui mumbled.

"That's why I brought Satsuki-san here to explain to you what happened." The tensai butted in.

"That girl?" Taka asked.

"Yup, she's a witch." Fuji replied.

"NANI!" All the other regulars started to back away.

"You mean those who maniacally laughed when making potions and stuff and sooo evil?" Momo asked.

"And those who have ugly faces when you see their true form?" Ryoma added.

"Hey! I'm not one of those you're saying! I don't even know if there's a witch like that. Seriously, you're watching too much television." The young witch sighed.

"We're sorry for being rude." Tezuka's glasses gleamed.

"Let's stop the nonsense ~nya." Eiji finally said.

"He's really Eiji-senpai. He got that bandage on his cheek." Kaidoh convinced.

"Yeah, you're right Mamushi." Momo finally agreed. "Hey! Why did you scratched me earlier, Eiji-senpai?" But Eiji just ignored his question.

"Now that you finally believe that this cat is Eiji-kun. You better believe the explanation, too." Kiyomi said. "Eiji-kun, you'll be the one explaining."

"Why me?" He whined.

"I don't want too. Just explain."

"Fine ~nya."

"I accidentally drank a potion. And it turned me to a cat nya~." Eiji simply explained.

"Seriously?" Momo looked at him oddly.

"Of course!"

"Illogical...This is illogical..."

"But...how will you changed back to normal?"

Kiyomi sighed. She's getting tired of this. "We'll go to the Realm tonight. Maybe I can find Broom-chan there. She knows where the antidote is."

"Realm? Broom-chan?"

"Realm...Mahou no Majo Realm or just Realm for short. That's where witches like me live and study. It's like a magical place. And Broom-chan is my tutor. She teaches me everything I need to know to be a full witch. She's gone to the Realm for a week for some business I don't even know about"

"Awesome! Can we come, too?" Momo asked.

"Ummm..I don't know...Ne, Eiji-kun. Do you want them to come?"

"It's fine with me ~nya. More people means more fun! I'm getting excited, too nya~."

Kiyomi sighed. "Fine. But promise me you'll not act like some five-year-old kid who just wanders off to somewhere."

"Hai..Hai..We'll behave."

"You sure you'll all come?" The question was directed to Tezuka.

The captain adjusted his glasses. "Fine with me."

"A little adventure won't hurt." Fuji commented

"We'll meet here in front of the school, after dinner." Eiji decided while Kiyomi only nodded.

"So, it's decided. You all will come. You don't have to bring anything, really. Just yourself. Oh, and nice meeting you all." The young witch bowed as she and Neko Eiji walk away to go home.

"See you later, minna!" Eiji shouted back at them. In the distance, they saw the two of them talking animatedly.

"They became so close. Didn't they, Fuji?" Taka questioned.

"Yeah. And Satsuki-san finally opened up to us." The tensai smiled.

**~End of Chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Finaally, I'm done! Phew! I have a hard time completing this. XD mostly because I'm being lazy again. Hehe.. Next chapter will be the Realm! I'm so excited to finally write about it! Oh, and by the way, I wanna thank _**pays back a bitch sucker**_ for personally PM-in me about my fic. It really made me all pumped up to publish this chapter as soon as possible. And also **_32692010 & Sayonara Yasashii Akumu _**for donating an idea and for editing chapter four, respectively. And also, thank you to all who reviewed! I hope you'll keep reading 魔女の冒険** Majo no Bouken** until it ends.

Again, thanks for reading. You can leave a review if you want. Matta ne~!.


	6. Welcome to the Realm!

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

_Tenisu no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Recap<em>**

"We'll meet here in front of the school after dinner," Eiji decided while Kiyomi only nodded.

"So, it's decided. You all will come. You don't have to bring anything, really. Just yourself, oh, and nice meeting you all," the young witch bowed as she and Neko Eiji walked away to go home.

"See you later, minna!" Eiji shouted back at them. In the distance, they saw the two of them talking animatedly.

"They've become so close, haven't they, Fuji?" Taka questioned.

"Yeah, and Satsuki-san finally opened up to us," the tensai smiled.

**_~End_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six - Welcome to the Realm!<strong>

A young mint green-haired witch sighed as she flipped a page of her manual book. She fought back a yawn when she shifted in her seat. Neko Eiji sat comfortably above the table among the other manual books.

"Yomi-chan, what exactly are you looking for? We have to go to Seigaku now. I'm sure everyone is there already. At this time, they've already finished their dinner nya~," neko Eiji also shifted as he glanced at the wall clock that read 7:30 in the evening.

"Just a minute, Eiji-kun. I'm searching for a spell to open the portal to the Realm. I can't remember how to open it!" Kiyomi panicked.

"Eh? But...I thought...you..." Eiji was cut off by Kiyomi.

"Yay! Finally found it!" The young witch jumped excitedly.

"You did? That was fast ~nya!" She nodded.

"That's good, then. Ikko!"

"Hai! Let's go!"

**-Seigaku Grounds**

"Ochibi is late again." Eiji whined. They've been waiting for him since ages ago.

"Momo! Why didn't you meet with him?" He asked his dunk smasher kouhai who was wearing an all ocean blue pair of casual jeans and a sleeveless shirt. A pair of kinda traditional Japanese slippers with cream-colored straps served as his footwear.

Momo rubbed the nape of his neck and nervously laughed, "Gomen, gomen, I forgot senpai. I got so excited about coming here immediately."

**_~oOo~_**

As for the others' clothes, let's start with buchou, Tezuka Kunimitsu. He wore black jeans, casual shoes of the same color, and a thin purple jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. For our resident tensai, Fuji Syusuke, he wore thin, sapphire blue jacket-like clothing with a t-shirt of a very dark blue color underneath, and casual jeans in a very dark blue color too. Casual shoes similar to Tezuka's, in terms of color, were present. For our fukubuchou, Oishi Shuichiro, a midnight blue t-shirt was present with the word, CLOSE on it. The jeans were the same color as his t-shirt. He wore white rubber shoes for his footwear. As for our power player, Kawamura Takashi, he also wore white, thin jacket-like clothing with a dark, pastel pink shirt underneath. As for our data man, Inui Sadaharu, he wore a white collared V-neck shirt and steel blue jeans. White rubber shoes with a little shade of fire brick red were present as his footwear. Lastly, our Viper, Kaidoh Kaoru, wore a black shooter shirt and simple cerulean blue shorts. Black rubber shoes served as his footwear.

**_~oOo~_**

"Uissu."

"Ochibi/Echizen!"

"What took you so long?"

"It was hard to sneak out, senpai. Karupin kept meowing and following me," the tennis prince replied. He wore a simple white shirt with two ultramarine lines in the middle. As usual, he wore his dark, navy blue shorts. His casual shoes were in a cardinal shade with a line of jet black in the middle.

"Oh."

"Anyway…Since all of you are here already, shall we go?"

"Hai!" They all said in unison.

"After you, Satsuki-sama!"

"What's with the honorific? Don't call me that."

"We're just kidding ~nya!" Neko Eiji laughed.

"Anyway...A-anou...W-would you mind turning back for a sec?" The young witch asked nervously.

"I would mind ~nya!"

"Just do it!" She glared and then turned away to hide her blush.

"O-okay nya." Everyone turned back after that.

_"Wand: Summon!"_

They heard Kiyomi say. When they all faced the young witch again, they saw her holding a wonderful magical wand. The colors of golden yellow, lavender, and pink decorated its handle with different beads at each ending color. It had a circular orb with a beautiful shade of red at its top and wing-like feathers simply surrounding it.

Odd, with a mixture of amused, looks were directed at her.

"You don't want us to see you summoning a wand?"

Kiyomi looked away and blushed, "It's kind of awkward with those stares."

"Saa...Satsuki-san is the type who gets shy easily."

"Sou da, ~nya!"

"U-Urasai! Stop aiding each other, you two!"

"Demo...Yomi-chan's so cute to tease ne, Fujiko?"

Kiyomi just looked the other way. She noticed she'd been blushing so much today.

"Ne, Eiji. Why didn't you come with Satsuki-san earlier?" Fuji asked. The others' ears perked up. The two mentioned blushed madly as memories of the earlier bath flashed in their minds.

"Ohhhh...Something's suspicious," the second year dunk smasher whispered to his kouhai.

"I think they are hiding something, ne, Echizen?" He added.

"NO! WE'RE NOT!" The two exclaimed instantly.

"It's obvious. They are hiding something," Ryoma mumbled before adjusting his ever-so-present white Fila cap.

"Anyway! Aren't we going to the Realm?" Oishi tried to help his doubles partner since he noticed that Eiji and Kiyomi were fidgeting awkwardly.

"Arigatou, Oishi!" Neko Eiji mouthed and gave him a thumbs up as he stood on two feet. Oishi smiled as he also gave him a thumbs up.

"Senpai?" Kaidoh's voice was heard. All of the regular's eyes looked at where Kiyomi stood. She was tracing a circle-shape type in midair.

_"In this place and hour, I call upon the ancient power._

_Open the door through time and space. _

_And create a path to another place."_

Few seconds after, a dark blue magic circle appeared. Words in an unrecognizable language occupied its inner secondary layer. Squares in various positions served as the background for its center circle. A single star stood in the middle with a beautiful crescent moon at its very center. Symbols for the four elements and an additional symbol for the Realm were enclosed in separate small circles that also became a part of the magical circle.

"C'mon, we'll be entering the Realm, now. Just follow me, ne," she said before entering the, now animatedly, revolving magic circle.

"Don't worry ~nya! It's safe," neko Eiji assured his teammates before walking into it, disappearing from everyone's sight.

_/ How do you even know if it's safe? / _

After seeing no one move an inch, Tezuka stepped forward, and also went through it. Soon, everyone followed too.

**_~oOo~_**

Ten pairs of eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. They looked around and noticed a grassy, wooden door attached to a hundred-year-old tree. Light seemed to illuminate their spot, for it was kind of dark in the other places. A hanging bridge that only stood half-way was innocently in front of them. The regulars watched Kiyomi walk onto it as it swayed very slowly.

"C-Chotto. You can't possibly cross that bridge," a worried Oishi said.

"Yeah, you will fall, senpai."

"But we have to jump."

"Eh? Why?"

"It's the only way to the Realm," the young witch replied calmly before finally jumping to the deep and dark abyss.

"Wha?"

"Oh! We have to jump too," neko Eiji finally realized.

"You just realized that?" All half-screamed.

"You'll jump?" Ryoma asked his spiky-haired senpai.

"I...I don't...know," Momoshiro answered unsurely.

"Whatever. I'm going to jump too ~nya!" Neko Eiji cheerfully exclaimed before also jumping.

"Eiji!" Oishi half-yelled. In an attempt to calm fukubuchou down, Momo went forward, but unfortunately tripped because of a small rock.

"Hey! That hurts!" The rock said. This made the dunk smasher jolt up in surprise causing him to slip off the cliff. Yeah. Truth be told, he fell into the abyss.

"Momo!" Oishi, once again, screamed worriedly.

"Saa...Stop worrying, will you?" Fuji calmly advised and pushed the vice-captain.

"FUUUJJJIIII!" Fukubuchou's voice echoed loudly.

The said tensai chuckled sadistically. The remaining regulars just looked at him. Seriously, what if... if that happened to them? They inwardly shuddered. Their teammate is such a sadist, doesn't everyone know that?

"Saa...Let's jump too, ne?" He said before jumping to the abyss, too. Soon, everyone followed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Once, eyes were opened...<em>**

"I think we're falling," Fuji said in a monotone voice, smile still in place.

"WE ARE FALLING!" Momo yelled.

"YOMI-CHAN/SATSUKI-SAN/SATSUKI-SENPAI!"

"What?"

"WE ARE FALLING!"

"Iteration much?"

"Do something ~nya!"

"But...I don't know how!"

"Use magic or something ~nya!" Neko Eiji's arms started to flail wildly in the air.

"Demo! I don't know which spell to use!"

Everyone facepalmed.

_/ We are so doomed. /_

**In the distance...**

"Oh, something's falling," a young girl said while pointing her index finger to a specific direction. Another girl looked up.

_/ They looked like senpai-taichi. /_

"I'll help them!" The girl declared to her companion before soaring high up in the sky. The screams got louder as the said girl neared them. She let out her sterling silver wand that featured unique spirit quartz at its tip, and an amethyst and topaz gem for its added decoration. It was accented with a sterling silver faerie and a dark sapphire orb that can be found at its base. This simple, yet magnificent wand seemed so mysterious with just a look at it. But, it still let out an aura that says it is one of the finest wands the Realm ever had.

_"Feather Shards!"_ She chanted.

Just as she said, white velvety feathers began falling. It enveloped the ten falling people and made them land safely on the ground.

"We're saved ~nya. Yokatta!"

"Gomen. I haven't done anything."

"~nya...Daidyoubu, Yomi-chan. At least we're saved, ne."

"I need to practice more spells," the young witch mumbled.

"Yah...Senpai's right Satsuki-senpai. I wonder who saved us, though."

"I'm right. It's really senpai-taichi."

All heads turned to the source of the new, yet familiar, voice.

"Ryuzaki-san/chan?"

The said auburn girl smiled shyly.

"You're the one who saved us?"

"H-hai."

"You're a witch, too?"

"H-hai."

"Oh, so that's why I felt another witch's aura in the school," Kiyomi mumbled.

"Hoi! Ryuzaki-chan's keeping secrets from us! And Ochibi's hurt nya~!" Neko Eiji who was now in Kiyomi's arms pouted. Her chocolate brown orbs curiously stared at him while the tennis prince adjusted his cap on the background while saying something in denial.

"E-Eiji-senpai?"

"Of course it's me, ~nya!"

"But… Secrets are meant to be kept," Kiyomi mumbled.

"No! Secrets should be told ~nya," Eiji argued.

"Secrets won't be called secrets if you told them."

"You're being mean to me, Yomi-chan," Eiji went to sulk in a corner.

"But...I'm just saying the truth," a clueless Kiyomi said.

"Don't worry, Satsuki-san. Eiji just doesn't want his friends to keep anything as a secret from him," Oishi placed a comforting hand on Kiyomi's shoulder.

"Ne...Ryoma-kun..."

"Hm?"

"A-anou...Are you angry with me?"

"Why would I be angry?"

"Iie. N-Nothing much. I just t-thought you were angry."

"Ne, Ryuzaki, why are you wearing all black?"

At this question, all of the other heads shot up. Oh, their kouhai really wore an all-black dress. It was a sleeveless black dress that reached just two inches above her knees to be exact. It puffed out at the lower part that showed a little bit of a red cloth. Red wrist gloves were also present at her hands. Black ballerina-like shoes that had a sharp end served as her footwear. To complete her outfit, a black, stylish witch hat with a crimson ribbon stood on her head. As for her hairstyle, it was beautifully curled up on the sides with some loose hair that cascaded down from it.

_/ When did the two of them talk so closely? / _

"Black is a color for Goth," Tezuka suddenly said.

"Tezuka! Since when did you know that?" Taka asked as he blinked.

"Masaka! Buchou, you like black?" Kaidoh asked in disbelief.

"Is that why your pants and shirt are all black, buchou?" Momo was the one who asked this time.

"I just read it in my book," Tezuka replied in the same stoic manner.

"So, you admit that you like black huh, Tezuka. You didn't deny it," Fuji chuckled.

"You three, twenty laps around the Realm, now!"

Kiyomi's head shot up, "Around? But, the Realm is so large. They might get lost."

"Hn. Forget it, then."

"You didn't answer my question, Ryuzaki."

"Oh, about that. A-anou, I-I just think this dress is cute. That's why I chose it," Sakuno looked at her dress.

"Yeah, it looks really cute in you."

"Eh? R-Ryoma-kun, did you say something?"

"Betsuni."

"Unfair! Yomi-chan disagrees with me nya!" Neko Eiji yelled out of the blue.

"Oishi-senpai, what's gotten to Eiji-senpai? He looks like a child with a temper tantrum," Momo observed.

"Fssshh...I know Eiji-senpai is childish sometimes...but...isn't this a bit too much?"

They all watched as neko Eiji stomped his furry paws repeatedly. A few seconds after that, he sulked once again. This time, crying his heart out.

"I think you should agree with him?" Taka advised our young witch.

"WHY? Do you really hate me that much because of what I did earlier in the bath?"

Blank and curious stares started to be directed at Eiji and Kiyomi, back and forth.

_/ Bath? /_ They all thought in startle-ish manner. What could have happened between the two of them? The young witch immediately picked Eiji up and hushed him.

"I just told you, I'm not angry anymore."

_/ Angry? Seriously, what did Eiji do? /_

"But… You still got angry nya!" The neko whined. Kiyomi directed a look that screamed, 'Seriously, you're being childish!' Eiji whined once more.

"Of course, who wouldn't?" The young witch didn't mean for Eiji to hear it, but since he had developed sensitive cat ears, he understood and heard it easily. Waterfall tears started to poor down from his dark blue orbs. Kiyomi was taken aback.

"Eiji-senpai is being so emotional," Ryoma commented. A lighted bulb suddenly illuminated above a certain auburn girl's head.

"That's right! Keyword is emotional! Eiji-senpai is being so emotional because he'd eaten a flossie berry. I think," Sakuno said.

"Flossie berry? You mean that berry whose main purpose is for dental floss?"

"Yeah, that type senpai. Its main purpose is for dental floss, but its berry-like fruit, when eaten, can cause you to be really emotional all of a sudden."

"But, I didn't see Eiji-senpai eat any," Momo said.

"Maybe we didn't see it," Tezuka said.

"Flossie berries just pop out of nowhere. They really look like normal delicious berries, not to mention their taste, too," Kiyomi explained in addition.

"I saw him eat a blue kind of a berry," the tensai informed.

"Then why didn't you stop him?"

"I was interested to watch what would happen next."

"You're a sadist, you know that?"

"I know," the tensai chuckled.

"Wait, I thought flossie berries were red."

"Yes, but they have blue fruits, too."

"Those reds are the cure if you've eaten a blue one."

"Then let's just wait for it to show up."

"No! If you wait, they won't."

"Tch, how ironic."

"And troublesome."

"Saa, how do we cure Eiji, then?"

All averted their gazes to where Eiji stood. The acrobatic player was now lying on the ground, arms flailing wildly. He could've created a very messy snow angel if snow existed.

"I think it's best for Satsuki-senpai to handle Eiji-senpai," Sakuno said.

"Yeah, he went tantrum-ish because of her," Kaidoh agreed.

"What really happened between the two of you?" Taka was being so nosy this time, too.

"Oh...umm...n-nothing h-happened," Kiyomi answered nervously.

"A plant is running away. And it has a red berry," the tennis prince informed them nonchalantly.

"After it!" Momo yelled as soon as he realized the plant, and began running after that. Soon, everyone followed except Kiyomi and Neko Eiji. The regulars, including Sakuno had a hard time catching it. When their hands were only inches away, the said plant would leap, and they would stumble for balance.

"You know, you don't have to think about it so much, Eiji-kun," Kiyomi started.

"You're still angry at me, I know it," Eiji insisted stubbornly.

"Of course not! Do you think I would talk to you if I was still angry?" The young witch smiled as she bent down to pat Neko Eiji's head.

In the background, we can still see the others desperately trying to catch the running away flossie berry plant. Running and stumbling for balance are still evident, dirt flying here and there. It was a funny scene, indeed.

Neko Eiji laughed as he felt the warmth from Kiyomi's hand,"Sou da, nya."

"Kikumaru-senpai's laughing," said Kaidoh.

The others halted to a stop. Seeing that no one was chasing him, the flossie berry magically vanished then and there.

"Ahhh! The plant vanished into thin air!" Neko Eiji observed.

"He's back to normal," Fuji commented.

"It's good for you to be back, Eiji-senpai! Good for you," Momo said.

"Back?" A giant question mark appeared above the acrobatic player's head.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know," Oishi sighed.

"Oh, if you say so, Oishi."

"Ne, Ryuzaki-san."

"You used to call me Sakuno-chan, Yomi-senpai. We always played together whenever we got the chance during our young childhood days, don't you remember?" Sakuno asked in a much comfortable voice.

"Childhood days? Oh! So that's why you look oddly familiar. Ehehe! Gomen, Sakuno-chan! You can call me Yomi-chan just as always!" Kiyomi squealed before hugging the auburn girl, finally remembering.

"Of course," Sakuno smiled.

_/ Ryuzaki didn't stutter. / _

_/ Hehe. Yomi-chan will surely agree to help us into matchmaking ~nya. /_

"A-anou.. Can I ask why did you a-all came here in the Realm? I-I mean... It's normal for Yomi-chan to be here...d-demo..e-eto...Senpai-taichi and Ryoma-kun are not witches like us..." the auburn girl trailed off.

Kiyomi laughed, "Actually...only Eiji-kun and I were coming here in the first place to get the Animal Potion Reverse Recipe. But, you know, Eiji-kun can't just not show up in their tennis practices, so we didn't have a choice but to tell the other regulars. It went well, but, Momoshiro-kun asked if they could come, too. I asked for Eiji-kun's opinion, of course. And you know what his answer would be. And in the end, I agreed for all of them to come."

"Eiji-senpai drank a potion?" Sakuno asked.

"Yah, he accidentally drank it out of curiosity." Neko Eiji laughed in the background.

"Do you happen to know where Broom-chan is, Sakuno-chan?"

"Broom-chan? You mean, Ramifiée de Neige Beauté du Genêt?"

"Yup, that's her."

"Say what?" Kaidoh asked in disbelief. Tezuka's, Fuji's, and Taka's eyebrows all knitted in confusion and puzzlement.

"Rami...Ra...Ra...Fi...What?" Momo stuttered.

"Can we even consider it as a name?" Ryoma asked.

"It's in French, Ryoma-kun. That's the real name of our young witches' tutors here," Sakuno explained.

"That's why we prefer to call them Broom-chan and other nicknames for short," Kiyomi elaborated.

"Interesting," Inui simply said as he took notes, as usual.

"The name's weird, I prefer the nickname. It seems more normal."

"We're not normal beings, Momoshiro-kun. We're witches, that's why."

"Momo is just fine, Satsuki-senpai."

"Momo-kun then," the young witch smiled. Oh, how good it feels when you developed new friends.

"Just drop the kun, senpai. It feels weird."

"Oh, really? O-Okay, then."

"A-anou..I think...Broom-chan's in the Palace with Usagi-chan. There's a meeting there. Now that I think about it, it has been going on lately," Sakuno answered Kiyomi's earlier question.

"Palace? You mean Château la Royaume, as in the Queen's Palace? The very Palace of the Realm?"

"Uh, hai," Sakuno answered.

"Satsuki-san's so excited," Fuji said.

"We're going there? That's the very first place I wanted to visit when I finally got back here! Lucky!" Kiyomi cheerfully exclaimed.

"Listen up, everyone! We'll be visiting the Palace! Yay! Oh! Normal humans are allowed in the Realm, right?" She announced.

"Of course, at least, that's what I know. Her majesty already informed us that we can bring any normal humans here, as long as they won't cause any trouble."

"Just behave properly, minna," Oishi advised.

"And don't let your guard down."

"And Eiji-kun, don't just go wandering around."

"Catch, Taka-san."

"BURNING! WE'LL SURELY HAVE FUN IN THE PALACE, GREAT-O!"

"Fuji-senpai. Since when did you bring a racket here? Fsshhh.."

"20 laps when we get back, Fuji."

"Not in the Realm?" The tensai chuckled.

"50 laps."

"Hai, hai."

"Shall we go then, nya?"

"Hai!" Several voices echoed in enthusiastic replies.

"C-Chotto, senpai-taichi." Sakuno halted.

"What is it, Ryuzaki-san?" Tezuka asked.

"A-anou. Yomi-senpai...Y-You have to change first. We have to wear our normal Realm clothes, _not_ our h-human clothes."

"Oh,...ahahha... Gomen, I forgot. It's really been awhile since I last visited the Realm. My bad. My bad. It's a policy, right?" Kiyomi winked.

Eiji's dark blue orbs blinked, "You're going to transform into something similar with Ryuzaki-chan's clothes ~nya?"

"Something like that," The young witch grinned.

_"Magical Efficacy: Unlock!_"

"Heeh. It's been a while since I last wore these clothes. Kinda feels nostalgic," Kiyomi grinned as she touched her new clothing. A tube type of dress reached her knees. The lower half of it was black with inverted red triangles at the very low end. A single black line ran across the middle of the inverted triangles. While the upper half of the dress was in candy apple red with angelic white ruffles at the top of it, a simple yellow-orange ribbon stood in its center and slightly large, circular orbs decorated its two ends. Simple raspberry red-laced shoes served as her footwear. Kiyomi's mint green hair was tied up elegantly like a natural ribbon on her head while the rest of her hair was just let down.

"Yomi-chan's so adorable ~nya!" Eiji commented as he grinned.

The young witch's cheeks were decorated with pink hues,"A-Arigatou, Eiji-kun."

"May I ask, Satsuki-san, why don't you have a hat like Ryuzaki-san's?" Inui asked.

"Ehehehe… I don't want one. This outfit looks more adorable without the hat, right? But if situation's gonna call for it, I can wear one," Kiyomi answered as she twirled.

"Sou, Sou," Momoshiro agreed.

"Saa.. I have a question, Ryuzaki-san," said Fuji.

"What would i-it be, F-Fuji-senpai?"

"Hmmm, what would happen if you didn't change into your Realm clothes? Satsuki-san said it's a policy, right?"

"Yes, it is, but only when you enter the Palace. Otherwise, you won't be allowed to enter at all. But, if you're outside the Palace, it's your choice whether you want to wear it or not. Any clothing would be fine," Sakuno explained.

"Why is that?" Inui interrogated.

"A long, long time ago, when the Realm only half-existed, inhabitants from the other dimension suddenly appeared here. They caused a never-ending chaos here, and soon, their main target was the Realm's Palace. Of course, in the end, the ancient witches finally succeeded in driving them away and they managed to seal the entrance the other dimension used. The Palace took safety measures after that, including the policy for the Realm clothes. The Realm Clothes served as the identification card for the witches that _really_ lived here. If you don't have one, you might be thought of as one of those from the other dimension. The elders, as well as the Queen still remain alert if anyone has the intention to cause destruction to the Realm. That's what Usagi-chan told me."

"Usagi-chan?" Oishi questioned.

"Similar with Yomi-chan's Broom-chan, she's my tutor too," the auburn girl answered.

"Why does the Realm Clothes' Policy only apply inside the Palace? Isn't it also dangerous outside?" Tezuka couldn't help but be curious, too.

"G-Gomen, senpai. Demo, I-I don't know the answer for that. But, I think it is because the Royaume is the one who balances all the magic here. If it were destroyed, the whole Realm would be destroyed, too," Sakuno replied.

"Ah."

"About what you said with the policy, wouldn't we be mistaken as one of the inhabitants of the other dimension? We don't have any of your Realm clothes," Inui interrogated once more.

Sakuno shook her head, "Of course not, Inui-senpai. The Palace can immediately detect those from the other dimension. Her majesty already casted a powerful spell for that. And besides, you're humans. The magic can detect that, too.

"You're extra talkative today, Ryuzaki," Ryoma commented out of the blue.

The said auburn girl blushed as usual, "E-Eh?... G-Gomen."

"Ochibi! That's rude ~nya!" Neko Eiji yelled as he poked Ryoma's leg.

"Kikumaru-senpai! That hurts!"

"Echizen, apologize to Ryuzaki-san. Look! She looks like she's about to cry any second now. You can't just say something so rude like that. You just can't!" Momoshiro dragged Ryoma within a Ryuzaki-far-away-earshot. The tennis prince glanced at the auburn girl. She was biting her lower lip and her eyes looked a little watery. He noticed she wore a sad frown.

_/ I didn't mean it the wrong way. /_

"What are you waiting for? Go apologize!" Momoshiro pushed Ryoma to Sakuno's direction.

_/ There's no nearby Ponta. / _

Fortunately, a can of Cherry Ponta materialized on his hands at that very moment.

_/ Ponta? /_ Ryoma thought quizzically.

_/ I figured you needed some extra help. / _A voice answered on his head.

_/ Who are you? / _The tennis prince asked_._

_/ Satsuki-senpai / _

_/ You read minds, senpai? / _

_/ Of course not. That's invasion of privacy. It's obvious you needed something to give her. And no, this is not reading minds. It's telepathy. Just for this time, I'm going to use it. Now, go give that to Sakuno-chan. /_

_/ Arigatou, senpai. / _

"Want some?" A can of pink-colored Ponta was offered in front of Sakuno's face.

"E-eh? A-Arigatou, Ryoma-kun," The auburn girl's frown finally turned into a smile.

"Betsuni."

"Echizen even brought a can of Ponta here."

"I bet he placed it in his pocket."

"Tsk. That Echizen, sneaky brat."

"Saa.. At least he didn't made Ryuzaki-san cry,"

"You did something, didn't you ~nya?" Neko Eiji whispered to Kiyomi.

"What are you talking about, Eiji-kun?" The young witch asked innocently.

"You don't have to lie, nya. I know you did something."

"Okay. Okay. I'm the one who gave him the Ponta."

"I figured there would be no vending machines here in the Realm. That's why I brought one," the two heard Ryoma say.

"Oh, but there are vending machines here in the Realm, too," Sakuno clarified.

All the regulars shuddered at the thought of the drinks. Who knows what they would taste like, maybe worse than Inui juice.

"Why are you shuddering? The drinks are not that disgusting, if that's what you're thinking. We drink it too, you know," Kiyomi informed.

"Y-you should try one, senpai-taichi," Sakuno smiled.

"Ah...M-maybe later," Oishi replied, unsurely.

"Maybe we should go the Palace now," Eiji said.

"Oh! I forgot about that! Let's go now, ne?" Kiyomi's light tangerine orbs sparkled in excitement.

"Hai," Sakuno said before soaring high up in the pale pink-lavender sky.

"Remember, you can fly too, Yomichan-senpai. You are in the Realm now, not the Human World," the auburn girl reminded Kiyomi.

"Of course, I didn't forget that. Oh, Yomi-chan's fine," Kiyomi said as she flew up to the sky, too.

Sakuno shook her head. "You are my senpai."

Kiyomi giggled. "Suite yourself, then."

"Oi! How about us ~nya? We can't fly," Neko Eiji pouted.

The young witch laughed. "Gomen. I forgot about that, Eiji-kun."

"We can make them stay in a flying cloud, senpai." Sakuno suggested.

"Hmm.. That will do," Kiyomi nodded.

_"Wand: Summon!"_

The two of them said in unison. As they got their hands on their respective magical wands, they created a fluffy cloud in a soft spring green color and settled it just beside the Regulars.

"Feels like a fluffy cotton candy," Fuji commented as he touched the floating cloud.

"Can I eat it, ~nya?" Neko Eiji enthusiastically asked.

"Oi...C-Chotto, Eiji-kun!" Kiyomi halted but it was too late, the pink cat already ate a portion of the cloud.

"Yuck! It tastes so bitter ~nya! I thought clouds here tasted like cotton candy," Neko Eiji stuck his tongue out in a disgusted manner.

Kiyomi giggled because of Neko Eiji's antics, "Yes it is. But, only those made by the official cloud makers of the Realm. If it's not, it will taste horrible."

She heard Sakuno and the others gasp all of a sudden, "Eh? What's the matter?"

When our resident young witch averted her gaze to Tezuka-buchou, she saw a few scratches on the captain's face (left cheek mainly). She couldn't help but also gasp.

"Eiji-kun...You...?"

The sane regulars just gulped as they saw Tezuka's eye glasses flash in a threatening manner. Fuji kept his eyes closed and smiled as he said,

"Maa, Tezuka. I bet that hurts."

"Eiji, why did you do that?" The mother hen questioned.

"G-Gomenasai ~nya. I-I didn't mean it, Tezuka! I promise!"

"Then why?" Taka asked.

"I-It's because of the...a-anou... portion of the cloud Eiji-senpai ate. The magic on it has some undesirable effects," Sakuno tried to explain.

"That's why I attempted to stop you," Kiyomi sighed.

A drop of blood slowly trickled down Tezuka's cheek.

"Buchou's bleeding," Ryoma stated.

"Here, Tezuka-san," Kiyomi offered a yellow handkerchief in front of the captain.

"I put a healing spell on it. Your wound will heal in no time," she smiled.

"Arigatou," Tezuka thanked her in a firm voice. The young witch now floated in front of Neko Eiji.

"Hmmm.. Want to come with me during the trip? Who knows what side effects will arise for you," she playfully smiled.

"Mou. Yomi-chan's being mean."

"Hai. Hai. Whatever you say," Kiyomi laughed as she picked the pink cat up. Cat-like amber orbs stared at them.

"You want to be treated like that by Ryuzaki-san, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Fuji-senpai."

The tensai just chuckled. "If you keep on denying like that, Echizen, nothing will happen."

"Che."

"Oh, and Tezuka. Does Satsuki-san like you now?" Fuji teased.

"Huh?" Kiyomi reacted.

"Fuji-senpai, just because you lent a someone a handkerchief doesn't mean you like him/her already," Momo said in confusion.

"Sou da ~nya," Eiji suddenly agreed.

"Just because I lent a handkerchief, it doesn't mean I like Tezuka-san already," Kiyomi mimicked Momoshiro's statement.

"So, you hate him?" Fuji interrogated.

"Of course not."

"Then, you like him."

"You're being pushy, Fuji-kun. I don't like nor hate Tezuka-san," Kiyomi clarified.

"Fuji, that's enough," Tezuka said as he pressed the handkerchief to his cheek.

"Oh, but I'm just clarifying it, Tezuka."

"THAT'S ENOUGH NYA!" Neko Eiji crossed his arms. All heads turned to him.

"Yomi-chan doesn't like Tezuka-buchou," He added, seriously.

"What's gotten to Eiji-senpai?" Momoshiro whispered to his kouhai. Ryoma just gave him a shrug as an answer.

"Ii data. Kikumaru seems to be jealous," the data man mumbled to himself.

"Maybe it's the hidden effects of the flossie berry?" Taka laughed nervously.

"Why don't we go to the Palace now, ne?" The acrobatic player suggested cheerfully like he didn't say any serious stuff at all. The young witch just nodded. The tennis prince, without saying anything, just sat on the edge of the cloud. Soon, the others followed. Just like Ryoma, they also sat on the cloud. Since all are now ready, both young witches finally flew to the sky, followed by the floating cloud behind.

"We'll be able to view the Realm from up here," Sakuno informed them.

"Ryuzaki-chan's like our tour guide ~nya!" Neko Eiji said.

The rest of the regulars watched in awe as the two witches flew expertly in mid-air. Sakuno seemed to be enjoying it, for she would change courses after some time. Unable to keep it in, she took a playful circular flip just like an expert gymnast in the human world, except, she was doing it in mid-air.

"That's awesome, Ryuzaki-san," Taka commented.

"Hehe. Arigatou, senpai," she thanked him.

"Ne, can you flip like that too, Yomi-chan?" Eiji asked.

"Oh? But, you might get dizzy," Kiyomi said

"Try it ~nya." He pursuaded.

"Okay, then."

After it was said, Kiyomi also did a playful circular flip in mid-air. A strong breeze suddenly blew by that made the two of them unbalanced for a while.

"Whew. That was close. I almost lost my grip on you." Kiyomi said.

"But! It's fun ~nya."

"Fssshhh.. The sun's almost set." Kaidoh suddenly said as he looked up.

"We're finally here," Sakuno announced before she landed on the Palace's front green meadow.

"The Realm's Palace!" Kiyomi squealed as she also landed and immediately loosened her grip to Neko Eiji, who just inhaled the calm breeze of the meadow.

"Whoa, this Palace is floating," Ryoma said in awe.

"That's expected in a Magical World, Echizen," Inui said to him.

"I bet you didn't expect this either, Inui-senpai."

"Look, there's a miniature waterfall here," Taka said as he bent down to plunge a hand in the flowing water in front of him.

"Oh, so a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow really exists. How fascinating!" Oishi said in delight after he noticed the bows of colors nearby the waterfall. Sure thing, a pot of gold existed at the end of the colorful and transparent stripes.

"Isn't it cute? A cactus here already bloomed," Fuji stated as he examined the said plant beside a bunch of flowers.

"That's too large for a normal cactus, senpai," Ryoma whispered.

"There's a burger-shaped plant here," Momoshiro laughed.

The tennis prince turned to the dunk smasher and sighed, "You're being hungry again, Momo-senpai."

"And, there's a painting of a mountain here. It seems to be moving as if it's real." Tezuka stated.

"Seriously, buchou?" Ryoma questioned before taking a peek.

"There really is," Buchou said.

"C-Chotto. Tezuka-buchou, Ryoma-kun. That's a portal to the Cascade de Glace Mountain. It is winter there now. You'll freeze to death if you enter that!" Sakuno exclaimed.

"Oh, thanks for detaining us, Ryuzaki-san," Tezuka said.

"You're fit for a tour guide, Ryuzaki," Ryoma smirked.

"A-Arigatou, Ryoma-kun," The auburn girl looked down as she blushed.

"Fssshh... Here," Kaidoh held out some meadow grass to a light lavender blue rabbit similar to the Beveren breed. It happily nibbled on the offered grass as Viper formed a small smile, watching the fur of white eat.

"How cute, Kaidoh-kun. You love animals, don't you?" The young witch asked him as she observed.

"Fsshh..." The Viper just hissed as an answer.

"Matte ~nya!" Neko Eiji yelled as he chased a small, lilac-blue butterfly with a paler underside. He desperately reached for it but still failed. Finally, the winged insect settled on a white clover flower with cerise pink on its edges.

"Oh, you're hungry ~nya?" The pink cat asked to no one in particular as he cat-like sat on the grassy ground, watching the Summer Azure Butterfly sip the honey-sweet nectar.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Kiyomi settled beside Sakuno under a magnificently large Rainbow-colored Sakura tree. Both of them eyed each of the Seigaku Regulars.

"I'm glad they tagged along," The mint green-haired young witch added with a bright smile.

"Hai. I actually didn't expect them to come here. But you know, I got the feeling senpai-taichi would make this trip like a very exciting adventure. And that includes you too, Yomi-chan-senpai," Sakuno formed a closed-eye smile.

"You bet, Sakuno-chan!" Kiyomi beamed.

"Shall we go inside now?" The auburn girl asked.

"Hai! I can't wait!" The young witch giggled.

"Minna! Let's go inside the Palace now. The evening breeze is finally coming up," she announced to the regulars who soon gathered around the two of them.

"I wonder how the Palace looks like," Fuji smiled.

"I want to have a tour inside ~nya!"

"We'll be walking on foot. It's more fun that way, ne?" Kiyomi finally said with a grin.

**.Tsuzuku.**

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><p><strong>AN:** Everyone, I'm sorry for the LONG wait! The new chapter should have been posted weeks ago..but...we didn't have any internet connection for almost two weeks... I have no choice but to wait patiently..and at that time, I took the time to write the two new chapters to make it up to you readers...Oh! And by the way, for visual representation for chapter six, I posted up links in my profile..just visit it there. I hope you'll find the pictures cute! Oh, and special thanks to **32692010** for becoming my beta reader! I appreciate your help..Thank you very much! Thank you for reading, minna!


	7. The Realm's Library & Lettuce Village

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

Disclaimer always applies.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Recap<strong>_

"Minna! Let's go inside the Palace now. The evening breeze is finally coming up," she announced to the Regulars who soon gathered around the two of them.

"I wonder how the Palace looks like," Fuji smiled.

"I want to have a tour inside ~nya!"

"We'll be walking on foot. It's more fun that way, ne?" Kiyomi finally said with a grin.

_**~End**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven –The Realm's Library and Lettuce Village<br>**

**-Once Inside the Palace-**

"Ne senpai, where exactly are we going?" Momoshiro questioned Kiyomi after noticing they'd been walking around for a while now.

"Ehehe. I actually I don't have any idea," the young witch answered.

"Ehhh?"

"S-Senpai-taichi, it should be this way," Sakuno interrupted before turning a corner.

"It?" Kaidoh asked.

"We'll go see Usagi-chan f-first, I'm sure she knows where Broom-chan is," the auburn girl elaborated. They all watched as she went through a transparent-like glowing wall then disappeared after. Seeing it as the only way, they all followed and went through it.

"We're lucky. Usagi-chan and the others are finished with their meetings this time," Sakuno smiled.

"You sure know this place, Sakuno-chan," Kiyomi commented.

"N-No. N-Not at all. I'm only familiar with those that we came across. Usagi-chan only showed m-me the needed stuff," Sakuno babbled shyly.

"Sachan-sama! Konnichiwa! What brings you here?" A pinkish stuffed-like animal exclaimed. It seemed to have intermediate, shiny golden rings on its fur extensions.

"Kawaii~" Neko Eiji also exclaimed as he neared the stuffed-like animal.

"Minna, this is Usagi-chan. My tutor," the auburn girl introduced.

"Nice meeting you all. I always heard about you from Sachan-sama. Thank you for your kindness with Sakuno-chan." Usagi-chan bowed.

"And longtime no see, Yomichan-sama," she added after she noticed Kiyomi's presence. The young witch just nodded with a bright smile.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Oishi replied on behalf of his teammates.

"Ne, Ryuzaki-san. May I know Usagi-chan's real name?" Fuji asked.

"Ah, hai. It's Fidèle à Connaissent être Ami," Sakuno replied.

_/ Another complicated name. /_ The others thought.

"How imprudent!" They heard Usagi-chan say in annoyance before slapping Eiji's pink neko arms away.

"Kikumaru, what did you do this time?" Tezuka demanded for an answer.

"I didn't do anything wrong ~nya! I just attempted to touch Usagi-chan's golden rings," Neko Eiji answered in his defense.

Sakuno slightly giggled, "Don't worry, Eiji-senpai. Usagi-chan's just sensitive when it comes to her shiny golden rings. She doesn't want anyone to lay a finger on them."

"Figures," Eiji tsk-ed.

"Say something?" Usagi-chan glared.

"Nothing ~nya!" Eiji replied almost immediately.

"Good then," Sakuno's tutor smiled not-so-kindly.

_/ Another sadist? / _The other Regulars thought in sync, except Tezuka and Fuji, of course.

"So, what brings you here, Sachan-sama?"

"Anou, w-we're actually l-looking for Broom-chan. Yomichan-senpai needs to ask her about some potion."

"Oh. Wait here, then. I'll call her." Usagi-chan used her two fur extensions to take flight.

"Ne, Yomi-chan. I thought your tutors were broomsticks?" Neko Eiji asked.

"Yes, they are, but they have two other forms. Like, for example, their animal-like form can be like Usagi-chan's, or can be a miniature dragon, a pet cat, dog, et cetera. And their other form is a human-like one that's similar to us.

"Sugoi, ~nya!"

"Ramifiée's here." Usagi-chan informed them.

"Broom-chan!" Kiyomi exclaimed before hugging her tutor.

"I've missed you!" She added.

"A broomstick's wiggling," Ryoma stated all of a sudden.

"Like a worm," Momoshiro continued with a laugh.

"Urusai!" Broom-chan said with a glare.

"Hai," the two stopped firmly for the glare reminded them of Fuji-senpai's. One word and you'll have a very sadistic experience. A policy? Maybe. Tsk.

"Broom-chan's sensitive with her broomstick form, especially the w-wiggling part. You should just say it's c-cute. If not, just don't say so. It's a good choice to not make any c-comments at all," Sakuno whispered to Ryoma and Momoshiro.

"Ah. We'll remember that, Ryuzaki/Ryuzaki-san."

"The recipe for Animal Potion Reverse? Why do you ask, Yomichan-sama?" Broom-chan asked, now in her human-like form as a girl with curly brown hair tied in twin ponytails by a green ribbon. The ribbons had black coloring on its edges, and a golden yellow color that served as the boundary layer. Kiyomi's tutor wore a cute green dress with light black sleeves that reached her wrists. No footwear was present, just plain black knee socks with tiny white wings on the ankle.

"They really look like the girls from our world," Oishi commented.

"Fssshhh, the clothes are normal too, except for the white wings on the ankle," Kaidoh agreed.

"It makes me think why they didn't wear any footwear, though," Taka said.

"Maybe they find it useless," Tezuka answered.

"This is the problem." Inui held Neko Eiji with its collar as he showed the said cat to Kiyomi's tutor.

"A pink cat? Well, that's not normal in the Human World."

"That's Eiji-kun, Broom-chan. He accidentally drank the Animal Potion," Kiyomi explained.

"Drank? You made him drink the potion?" Broom-chan's tone quickly changed to the one that clearly said 'Punishment Ahead'.

"Of course not!" Kiyomi immediately denied.

"I was going to show him the flying potion I made. I didn't bring it in a bottle. So instead, I made the potion room pop up on the roof. He came with me inside and began looking around," The young witch repeatedly pressed her index fingers together.

"You're being careless again. You can't let some random person enter the Potion Room, Kiyomi," Broom-chan narrowed her eyes.

"Gomenasai, Broom-chan!" Kiyomi clasped her hands together and bowed apologetically.

_/ Broom-chan's upset. I know it. She only calls me by that when I do something troublesome. /_

After sensing that Kiyomi's tutor has the aura of an annoyed teacher who's about to punish a student, Eiji decided to interrupt.

"It's not Yomi-chan's fault ~nya. I drank the potion out of curiosity. She didn't even want me to turn to a cat ~nya."

"Nonsense. Part of it is still her fault. You know what will my punishment be, young lady." Broom-chan said.

Kiyomi sighed, "I know. Three days of doing the household chores without any magic."

"That's right. But this time, you'll do it for a week."

"Ehhh? Awww. C'mon, Broom-chan! I already have a hard time with the three days. I can't stand it for a week! Broom-chan~" Kiyomi tried her tearful puppy dog eyes.

"No complaints. That's your punishment for being so careless. Now, follow me to the library." Broom-chan said before floating in mid-air.

"Hai."

"Saa, Satsuki-san. Can't you do your chores without your magic?" Fuji asked.

Kiyomi shook her head before pouting. "Of course, I can do them even without it."

"Then, why did you sounded like your life depends on it?"

"I've gotten used to it. It feels weird without using my magic. Habits die hard, Fuji-kun."

"Kiyomi. Come here for a while," Broom-chan called.

"Awww, Broom-chan. You're still angry at me? I told you, I'm sorry."

"Just come here."

"Hai." The young witch went ahead of the others.

"Some of the ingredients needed to complete the Potion can only be found here on the Realm. But, you'll be looking for it yourself with your companions. Many things are being discussed here in the Palace, Fidèle and I can't just leave without notice," Broom-chan informed her.

"I understand, Broom-chan. I planned to make the Potion here, anyway. It's easier here than in the Human World," Kiyomi said.

"All right. Just don't make any ruckus," her tutor reminded her.

"Oh, of course," Kiyomi giggled.

Sometime after, the group continued to head on to the Palace's Library. Neko Eiji began to walk beside the young witch quietly.

"What is it, Eiji-kun? It's unusual for you to be quiet at times like this. I mean, you're always loud and bubbl," Kiyomi stated.

The pink cat looked down, "Gomenasai, Yomi-chan. You've been punished because of me."

"Don't worry. It's really fine. I'm not even blaming you, Eiji-kun. Broom-chan's right, part of it is my fault, too. Awww, don't feel down. Your cheerful face fits you best. It's cuter that way," the young witch patted his head.

"Hontou? A-Arigatou ~nya." A pale red hue started to color the pink cat's cheeks.

"Ne, Yomi-chan. Can you carry me again like earlier?" Kiyomi just looked at him because of the sudden request.

"O-Oh. It's a-all right if you don't w-want to, ~nya! I… I just…. I think… I…" Neko Eiji rubbed the back of his head repeatedly, feeling the signs of embarrassment creep in.

Kiyomi slightly giggled as she picked him up and settled him in front of her chest.

"It's fine with me. I think… I've gotten used to holding the cat version of you l-like t-this," now, it was Kiyomi's turn to blush.

"I haven't seen Eiji-senpai this close with a girl before. I know he loves the attention given to him, but with Satsuki-senpai? I don't know what to think. It's as if they have been close since their first year in Seigaku. What cha think, Echizen?" Momoshiro whispered.

"Eh? Echizen?" He noticed that the tennis prince wasn't anywhere beside him.

"He's not even beside you in the first place, peach," Kaidoh informed him.

"What?"

"You, porcupine-head, lower your voice!" Broom-chan scolded.

"Sumimasen!" The dunk smasher immediately apologized.

"Ramifiée and Fidèle-san, the meeting will be starting at any minute now. I repeat, the meeting will be starting at any minute now. Please don't be late," A voice suddenly announced.

"Eh? Where did that came from?" Oishi asked.

"There are no speakers present," Inui observed.

"That was brought by the sound waves here. Speakers aren't needed," Usagi-chan informed.

"I repeat."

"Okay. Okay. We're going," Broom-chan halted.

"Yomichan-sama, gomen. I can't accompany you to the Library. Just tell the Librarian you needed the recipe for Animal Potion Reverse," Broom-chan reverted back to her broomstick form.

"Ja ne, Sachan-sama!" Usagi-chan suddenly disappeared.

Eiji pouted, "They didn't even say goodbye to us."

"We're not that close to them, Kikumaru-senpai," Ryoma said.

**-In Front of the Library-**

"It's a normal door," Kaidoh stated.

"It's not expected," Momoshiro said as Sakuno opened the oak door.

"Whoa. Now, that's unexpected ~nya. It's so spacious!" Eiji said in awe.

"What a large collection of books," Tezuka observed.

"Of course, it is a library, Tezuka," Fuji smiled.

"Fuji," Tezuka said in a threatening tone while the tensai just chuckled.

"The room seemed really small out there. But now that we have entered it, it looks like an amphitheater without the seats," Inui said.

The Library, just like the data man had said, looked like a circular building. Lots of books in various shelves existed all around the place. It could be a normal human library if no flying books could be seen around. Not to mention, the occupants too. There were dragons of different colors, fairies with different wings, iguanas with colorful scales, and witches in their Realm Clothes.

"Excuse me, ummm… Can I borrow the recipe for Animal Potion Reverse?" Kiyomi asked an orange-colored pumpkin which seemed to be the librarian.

_/ A pumpkin as a librarian. That's weird. I bet it cannot even talk. / _

"Name of the book?" It asked.

"Eh? Name? You mean title? S-Sumimasen. I don't know."

"That can't do, missy. The title's needed. It's easier to find it that way."

"D-demo. I wasn't told about that."

The pumpkin sighed, "No choice, then. Here, recite this spell. I think it will be able to find your book. Just focus on the thing you're searching."

An opened book was given to Kiyomi which has floating words above it.

"_Blessing of knowledge, And of writing and art._

_Unravel the ties, twist and crystals._

_Of which I yearn, For which I seek,_

_Thy book in space. Come in will!"_

Five seconds after, two books came floating in front of them.

"Which one?" Kiyomi asked.

"You have to scan both of them."

"Eh? B-But…It's so thick. It's almost a thousand paged book! It will take me hours."

"You can use the Gale Glasses of Enchantment. Every table has it, enclosed in a horizontal circular vase."

"O-Oh, okay then."

* * *

><p><em>"<em>You're confused? I'll explain it to you!" Broom-chan suddenly pops on to the screen.<em>_

_**_**The Gale Glasses of Enchantment is a magical item that is only present in the Realm's Official Library. It allows the user to read books at an extremely rapid pace. It can be bought in the Realm, of course, but it is really expensive. Many of the Town's Libraries cannot afford it, that's why, only the Library in the Palace has most of these glasses.**_**_

* * *

><p>"Ne, minna. You can roam around if you want to. I'll check these books for the meantime," the young witch smiled.<p>

"Eh? Really, ~nya?" Neko Eiji asked in enthusiasm.

"Not you, Eiji-kun," Kiyomi's smile faltered a bit.

"Why?" Eiji whined.

"I'm taking safety measures. Just sit here with me."

"That's mean ~nya," Eiji pouted.

"Oh, Sakuno-chan. Can you keep an eye on the others for me?" Kiyomi winked.

"H-Hai."

"Enjoy yourselves," she waved.

"Shhhhh!" The people in the Library gestured.

"Ehehe, gomen," Kiyomi posed a peace sign.

Kiyomi chose a five-chaired table and sat on one of its chairs. At the center of it rested a circular thing with five reading glasses inside. Each reading glasses had tiny wings on both sides. The young witch wore one and started to flip the pages of the first book.

"You're not even reading it ~nya."

"I'm reading it. These glasses allow me to read just by fast flipping its pages."

"Oh. That's awesome!"

"Want to try?"

"Can I?"

"Hai."

Kiyomi placed the glasses on Neko Eiji's eye level.

"You can help with the search."

"Hai!" Neko Eiji began flipping the pages.

"Sugoi ~nya! I can read the words clearly!" He exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!"

"Ahahah. Gomenasai."

**-30 Minutes Later-**

Kiyomi stretched her arms after she placed the book down. She finally finished scanning it, and yet, she didn't even find the recipe there.

"Ne, Eiji-kun. Did you find-"

"Here ~nya!" Neko Eiji showed her a certain page. The young witch's face beamed with brightness.

"Good job, Eiji-kun!" She hugged him who just happily laughed.

"Shhhh!"

"Sumimasen," both of them bowed.

"Let's see if we can borrow this book."

**-Borrower's Desk-**

"I'm sorry, but you can't borrow this one. Potions contained here are only on the experimental stage. It's not yet ready for public use," the Librarian said.

"B-But, I really need it. Ramifiée's the one who made it, and I already asked for permission from her."

"Ramifiée de Neige Beauté du Genêt?" Kiyomi nodded.

"You're still not allowed to borrow the book, though. But, I can allow you to copy it."

"A-Arigatou!"

"Here's the feather quill ~nya," Neko Eiji offered.

"Oh, thank you," the young witch accepted it and began writing the recipe on a paper. The quill suddenly moved by itself, startling Kiyomi for a while.

"It's much fun that way, right?" The pumpkin winked.

As soon as the pen finished, Kiyomi and Eiji took their leave after saying thank you to the Librarian. Both feet were outside the Realm's Library when the two remembered the others.

"We forgot about everyone ~nya!"

"Sou dayo!"

Dark blue and light tangerine pairs of eyes noticed their companions sitting in a corner when they turned to the left. Their auburn-haired kouhai was sitting on a bright turquoise-colored cloud with the tennis prince sitting beside her, drinking Ponta. Different looks were present on the 7 remaining regulars' faces. There was a stoic look with a vein twitching on the forehead, an annoyed one, a forced smile look, the worried a.k.a impatient expression, the straight, yet interested, face, the whining visage, and lastly, the strenuous look. They could surely be the cover of any magazine featuring the epic faces corner.

"Did you get the recipe?" Fuji asked.

"Hai, but why are you here waiting for us? Got scared of the books?" Kiyomi asked jokingly.

"Pumpkin-san made us go out," the auburn girl answered with a sigh.

"Out?" Neko Eiji questioned in confusion.

**-Flashback-**

_Tezuka Kunimitsu was roaming around the left corner of the Library. He got interested on a book about their world, so he sat on a chair and read it. A page was turned and a dragon suddenly popped out, giving out a loud roar. Buchou was startled and his glasses lit up for a second._

"_Out!" _

_The next thing he knew, he was already outside the Library._

_**~oOo~**_

_Fuji Syusuke was scanning the title of every book he came across. He couldn't find anything that caught his attention. On his next tour, something caught his eyesight, a book about the Realm's poisonous plants. Oishi sat beside him, holding also a book._

"_I think this will be a lucky charm for the clubroom," the tensai pointed to a certain plant. The mother hen was startled after reading the description. _

"_No! Our teammates might die because of that!" Oishi exclaimed._

"_You two, out! Silence mustn't be disturbed here."_

_**~oOo~**_

_Momoshiro Takeshi found a book about his favorite topic, Food. He leaned on the nearby shelf to read its contents. The shelf was kinda pushed, and caused the other reading materials to fall off of it. _

"_Shhhhhh!"_

_The dunk smasher started to pick them up as Kawamura passed by. Of course, his senpai helped him up, but unfortunately, a racket was under the books. Maybe it came from the very top of the shelf. Taka also picked it up._

"_Taka-san, wait!" _

_But, it was too late._

"_BURNING!"_

"_Urusai! Out! This is a Library for goodness sake!"_

_**~oOo~**_

_Ryuzaki Sakuno went with Echizen Ryoma around the Library. The tennis prince found an interesting book, and when he opened it, a spell caught his attention. He recited it without any hesitation. Sakuno, at that time , was also scanning the shelves. When she turned to Ryoma, the tennis prince was already a frog!_

"_Ryoma-kun! What happened?" The auburn girl panicked._

"_Ribbit," the tennis prince pointed to the book on the ground. _

"_At least, I can fix it," Sakuno sighed in relief._

"_Wand: Summon!"_

"_Reverse thee, revert thy form!"_

_Poof! And Ryoma's back to normal._

_/ Ryoma-kun almost became the Frog Prince. / _

"_You two, out!"_

_/ What did we do? /_

_**~oOo~**_

_Inui Sadaharu found a book about making juices. Tips on how to successfully make juices. He started to laugh evilly as he flipped the next page._

"_You there, you're creeping the others! Out!"_

_**~oOo~**_

_Kaidoh Kaoru decided to read the book that he came across about the different animals in the Realm. He sat on a nearby chair and turned a page. An animal came out of the book, alive. He couldn't help but pet it._

"_Oi! Don't make the animals come out from that book! Out!"_

**-End of Flashback-**

Neko Eiji sweatdropped. _/ Good thing I wasn't with them. / _

"Who would have thought that the Library here had the same rules as ours," Momoshiro huffed.

"It's evening already, senpai-taichi," Ryoma informed them.

"Sou dane. Time really flies so fast," Fuji agreed.

"I wonder where we'll be sleeping tonight," Kaidoh said as he looked outside a nearby circular window.

"You sounded like a run away from home, Mamushi," Momoshiro snickered.

"You can sleep at the lodge." Usagi-chan suddenly appeared in her animal form.

"Welcome back, Usagi-chan," Sakuno greeted.

"Don't just suddenly pop out of nowhere. We might die from heart attacks," Oishi said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Usagi-chan apologized.

"Thanks for the offer, though," Tezuka said.

"Can't we sleep here in the Palace?" Inui asked.

Kiyomi dramatically gasped, "That can't be! It's so rude to just sleep here."

"Why?"

"It's a Palace, Inui-san."

"It's forbidden?"

"Not at all. Demo…It's just not proper, you know. It's a Palace!"

"Hmmm.."

"Or, you can spend the night on Lettuce Village if you want to," Broom-chan offered as she suddenly popped out of nowhere, too.

"Lettuce Village?" Sakuno questioned.

"Don't just suddenly pop, Broom-chan!" Eiji yelled in the background but Ramifiée ignored him.

"Ah! Did I hear, right? Lettuce Village? We'll go there, right? Right? Awww.. It's been a while since I last saw Uncle and Auntie! Oh, Pleassseee! Let's spend the night there! Onegai!" Kiyomi pleaded as she clapped both of her hands in excitement.

"Maybe, I shouldn't have suggested that. Yomichan-sama is in 'I'll-surely-get-what-I-want-with-my-puppy-eyes' mode," Broom-chan sighed.

"Lettuce Village? Why does it sound like a creepy vegetable village?" Neko Eiji whispered to himself.

"Creepy vegetable?" Kaidoh stiffened as he imagined a lettuce with sharp fangs sucking out blood from the villagers.

_/ Bloodbath? / _

"That's totally wrong, Kaidoh-kun!" Kiyomi cleared the Viper's imagination with her hands.

"That was my thought balloon, senpai," Kaidoh whined.

"It should be this way," Kiyomi's thought balloon showed a happy looking village with numerous green-y lettuces being harvested from the soft, brownish soil.

"Yomichan-senpai really loves that village," Sakuno suddenly commented.

"You really know her that well, huh," Ryoma said to her.

The auburn girl shook her hea,. "That's not true, Ryoma-kun. There are still things that I should know."

The tennis prince just ignored the argument below them. His senpai-taichi were deciding where to spend the night, in the Lodge or the Lettuce Village? How quiet can it get? Tsk.

"Ne, Ryoma-kun. Why did you come along with the senpais here?"

"Is it a bother?"

"Ahh, i-iiya. That's not it. I-I just want to k-know the r-reason."

"Momo-senpai dragged me here."

"It's the usual," Sakuno giggled.

"Oi, you two. You'll be left behind if you don't stop being lovey dovey with each other ~nya," Eiji teased. You know their reactions will be, a blushing face and the adjustment of a cap.

"W-We're coming, Eiji-senpai," Sakuno managed to say.

"We're not being lovey dovey, senpai."

"Hai. Hai. Ochibi," Neko Eiji grinned and walked ahead while the two remained seated on the, now moving, cloud.

"You sure you don't want the Lodge?" Usagi-chan asked once again, now to Tezuka.

"The majority wants to stay in the Village," The captain answered.

"Fine, then. Have a safe trip," Usagi-chan sighed.

"Sachan-sama! Would you like me to accompany you to the Lettuce Village?"

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan. I'll be fine. You don't have to. I'm sure you're tired already. Just take your rest now, ne?"

"Thank you, my lady. If you'll excuse me then, Oyasumi nasai," Usagi-chan then passed through the wall.

"Hai. Oyasumi."

"Ramifiée-san! The council is calling for you. I repeat, the council is calling for you."

"Awww.. At this time? It's evening already."

"The council-"

"Stop with the repetition already. It's getting annoying. I'm coming."

"Gomen, Yomichan-sama. I plan to go with you to the Village but a meeting suddenly began. Gomenasai. Will you be fine, though? I mean it's already dark outside. I can send a bodyguard or something, if you want."

"Don't be such a worrywart, my tutor. I'll be fine. I've got many companions here."

"Oh, alright. I'll be off, then," Broom-chan let out a sigh of relief before flying away.

"Where is this Lettuce Village, Satsuki-san? Is it far away?" Tezuka asked.

"Not that far away. It maybe thirty minutes or so," Kiyomi replied before materializing the same cloud they had used earlier.

"We'll ride that again?"

"You want to walk?"

"You can stay here in the cloud, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno smiled.

"A-anou… O-Only if you w-want t-to," she pressed her index fingers together as she blushed.

"Okay."

The auburn girl's face lighted up.

Young, witch Kiyomi summoned another separate cloud that also floated like the other. She sat on it.

"Why aren't you getting on?" She asked Neko Eiji who seemed to be sitting on the floor, not moving a bit.

"C-Can I come with you instead, ~nya?"

Kiyomi tilted her head and soon laughed, "Of course, Eiji-kun."

**-Lettuce Village**

"Isn't it pretty? The rainbow-colored moon, I mean," Fuji admired.

Neko Eiji nodde, "It looks like a rainbow was painted on it just for tonight."

"The color's permanent, you two," Kiyomi corrected.

"Sou. Sou."

"We're here," Sakuno announced.

"That's good. I'm getting sleepy already," Ryoma said.

Their respective clouds landed in front of a slightly large, two-story cottage-like house. Kiyomi eagerly knocked on its door.

"Who is it?" A voice from the inside asked.

"It's me! Uncle! Auntie!" Kiyomi answered cheerfully.

"Kiyomi-chan?" A woman's voice verified before opening the door.

"Long time no see, ne?" The young witch placed her arms behind her as she closed-eye smiled.

"Oh, it's Kiyomi. Okaeri," An old man with a smoking pipe greeted them with a smile.

"Kiyomi-chan's really here!" The old woman hugged the said girl warmly.

"Come. Come inside. The cold night breeze will start to blow soon."

"Hai! Oh, I hope you don't mind. I brought some companions along."

The woman shook her head, "Of course not. Your friends will always be welcomed here."

"Arigatou, Auntie."

**-Once Inside**

"Ohh. It's so spacious inside. You wouldn't expect this one," Taka said.

"It's just like the Library, Kawamura-san. It uses Spacious Magic."

* * *

><p><em><em>Usagi-chan, in her animal form, entered the scene, materializes a screen, and points at it.<em>_

_**"_**Spacious Magic is a kind of magic that expands the space in a desired room. The room may look small outside, but once you have entered it, the magic activates, expanding the space for the people's advantage and usage."**_**_

__The screen shifted from a magic circle to a door and then to the inside of a room as Usagi-chan explained. Chibi Kawamura nodded as he finally understood how it works.__

* * *

><p>"Taka-san's fine, Satsuki-san."<p>

Kiyomi blinked, "A-Ah hai, sankyuu."

"Ehem, may we please be introduced?" The woman requested.

"O-Oh. Sumimasen. I forgot about that. My bad. Minna, this is Noriko-bachan and this is Yoshiro-ojichan. They are not my true relatives, but I consider them family. Auntie and Uncle, these are my schoolmates, the tennis regulars of our school," Kiyomi introduced.

"Nice meeting you all and longtime no see, Sakuno-chan," Auntie Noriko said.

"Hai, I've missed you too, just like Yomichan-senpai," Sakuno smiled.

"The young man's already asleep," Uncle Yoshiro laughed.

"That's Echizen Ryoma-kun, Uncle," Sakuno said.

"And I'm Kikumaru Eiji ~nya."

"Momoshiro Takeshi here."

"Kaidoh Kaoru. Fsssshhhh."

"Inui Sadaharu. Staying here's fun."

"It's so soft ~nya!" Neko Eiji happily beamed while bouncing on the couch.

"Oi, Eiji! This is not your house. I'm Oishi Syuichiro. Nice to meet you."

"Kawamura Takashi, desu. How do you do?" Taka-san shyly scratched the back of his head.

"You forgot this, Taka-san," Fuji offered a racquet.

"BURNIING! IT FEELS GOOD TO BE HERE!"

"Double personality, eh?" Noriko and Yoshiro sweatdropped.

"I'm Fuji Syusuke. Satsuki-san's lucky to have you."

"My. Thank you, dear."

_/ Is he always smiling? /_

"I'm the captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. Sorry for troubling you."

"Not at all. You possess great responsibility in you, child."

"My, my, Kiyomi. You've finally got yourself some good friends."

"W-Well, I-I think I'm not yet frien-"

"What are you saying ~nya? Everyone already became friends with you, Yomi-chan."

Kiyomi's eyes softened, "A-Arigatou, Eiji-kun."

"Hmmm.. Enough with the taking, children. I'm sure you all are tired already. Take your rest. The rooms are all prepared upstairs."

"Eh? H-How? You didn't even leave."

"We're witches."

"A-Ah. I forgot about that."

"Arigatou, Auntie. You already knew why we came here, huh."

"Broom-chan told me earlier that you might come here, and here you are! Don't worry, dear. You can stay here for as long as you like, including your friends, of course. Having human visitors for a while will be fun."

"Hai! Really, thank you!" Kiyomi hugged Auntie.

"Anything, dear," Auntie hugged back.

"What are you waiting for ~nya? I'm getting tired already," Neko Eiji nudged as he climbed the stairs.

"Mou, Eiji-kun. Don't act like you own the house or something," the young witch scolded him who just pouted. Kiyomi picked him up and resumed scolding him as they entered one of the three rooms. Tezuka, Inui, Kaidoh, and Kawamura are on Room 1. Oishi, Momoshiro, Fuji and Ryoma took Room 2. And, Sakuno entered Room 3. Oh, did I mention that each room has its own bathroom?

**-Room Three-**

"Oh, Sakuno-chan! I'm glad you've chosen here," Kiyomi said as she fixed her bed.

"Hai," Sakuno replied.

"~NYA! I-I CAN'T BRUSH MY TEETH!" Neko Eiji just realized it now.

/ Eiji-senpai really has fetish for toothpaste. /

"Shhh! Quiet, Eiji-kun. You can just brush tomorrow. Besides, you're a cat. Cats don't brush their teeth."

"B-B-but! I love brushing my teeth."

"C'mon. It's just for tonight."

"D-Demo."

"Just sleep, ne. Before you know it, you've finished brushing your teeth already."

The pink cat wailed but immediately stopped as he realized something.

"Yomichan-sama! Oh! You can summon clouds, right?"

_/ What's with the honorific? / _

"Uhh, yes?" Kiyomi replied, unsurely.

"Then! Please summon a toothbrush and toothpaste."

"Ehhhh?" Kiyomi and Sakuno both asked in disbelief.

"Pleasssseee!"

"We can't summon that one. There are human things, Eiji-kun."

"Mou."

"You're sulking again?" The young witch sighed.

"Fine. Fine. I'll return to the Human World and get you some, okay?"

"Hontou? Arigatou ~nya!"

"Be good with Sakuno-chan, ne. Saa, Ittekimasu," Kiyom summoned a magic circle and entered it.

"Itterashai!" Eiji said as he waved.

"Ne, Ryuzaki-chan. Eh? You're asleep already?" He noticed the auburn girl lying down on the bed, with her eyes closed and in her Pajamas.

"Oyasumi, then. Thanks for your help ~nya." He tucked the covers for his kouhai.

"I'm back!" Kiyomi suddenly announced.

"That's fast!"

"Hehe, here. I realized that I don't even know where your house is, so I ended up buying these instead."

"Daidyobou! Daidyobou!" The pink cat entered the bathroom and started to immediately brush his teeth.

"Oh. A wardrobe?" The young witch opened it.

"Uncle and Auntie are as hospitable as ever." She then changed to some sleepwear clothes and proceeded to lie on the bed.

"Yomi-chan. I'm done! Mou, you didn't even wait for me." Neko Eiji lay on the small bed intended for him. Seconds after, he realized he couldn't sleep and wasn't comfortable at all.

"Oyasumi," he whispered to Kiyomi as he lay down beside the young witch.

_/ It's warmer here ~nya. / _

**~End of Chapter**

* * *

><p>AN: Links are already posted, for Usagi-chan's and Broom-chan's form. Just visit my profile...ne. Thanks for reading! See you on the next chapter!**  
><strong>


	8. Fun?

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

Disclaimer:_ Tenisu no Oujisama © Konomi Takeshi ; I only own Kiyomi-chan._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Recap<strong>_

"Yomi-chan. I'm done. Mou. You didn't even wait for me." Neko Eiji lied on the small bed intended for him. Seconds after, he realized he can't sleep and wasn't comfortable at all.

"Oyasumi." He whispered to Kiyomi as he lied down beside the young witch.

_/ It's warmer here ~nya. /_

_**~End**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight - Fun?<strong>

A pink cat in a curtain-filled room started to stir awake. The new rays of the morning sun seemed to dance around him as if saying, he has to be awake now like the others.

"~nya?" He rubbed his eyes to make the remaining sleepiness go away.

"It's already morning, ~nya." He stifled a yawn before turning to the other occupants of the room.

_/ Maybe Ryuzaki-chan already went downstairs._ _/_ Neko Eiji concluded before going out of the room, leaving the mint-green haired witch still in her deep slumber.

**_~oOo~_**

"What's that smell ~nya? It's so gross." The pink cat groaned as he reached the living room.

"I don't smell anything, Eijij-senpai." Momoshiro said.

"Can't you smell it?"

The dunk smasher shook his head.

"B-But…"

"Kikumaru-kun's nose is just sensitive. Our village has that smell of a lettuce. I wonder why cats don't like them, though." Auntie Noriko explained, bringing waffles with her for their breakfast and settling them on the center table.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Noriko-san." Tezuka greeted.

"Ohayou to you too, Tezuka-kun." Auntie smiled.

"Waffles!" Momoshiro almost leaped at the newly-baked treat.

"Fssshhh.. You act like a pig, peach." Kaidoh said.

"What did you say? You picking a fight?" The other yelled.

"Oi, you two. Calm down, will you?" Oishi tried to stop them.

"He started it, senpai!" Momo defended.

"Now, now. We're at someone's house. Remember your manners!" The mother hen scolded.

"Sumimasen." The two kouhais bowed their head in shame.

"Really dear, they are so energetic at this early in the morning.." Noriko sweatdropped.

"Sou dane." Yoshiro also sweatdropped.

"Hmmm.. Tezuka didn't make them run laps, right Inui?" Fuji said.

"I think he's in a good mood, that's why." Inui agreed.

"Hey, Eiji-senpai! That's mine!" Momoshiro yelled once again.

"I got it first, Momo! You should try one, guys. It's so delicious ~nya." Eiji said after letting his tongue out at Momo.

"My, thank you." Noriko said in a dreamy voice.

"You didn't come down with Kiyomi, Sakuno-chan." Yoshiro said as he went beside the auburn girl.

"She's still asleep, Uncle. It would be rude if I wake her up."

Uncle chuckled. "You haven't change, dear. Still polite as always."

Sakuno looked down as blushes crept up her cheeks.

"Not to mention, shy too." Yoshiro laughed.

"I baked some lettuce cookies, everyone." Noriko informed them, holding a tray of light green cookies. Its scent travelled around the house, including the room in where the young witch is asleep. Several backed away.

"Bad memories." Kaidoh muttered.

"They looked like Inui juice ~nya! Except in food form!" Eiji said a panic stricken voice.

Auntie titled her head in confusion while Inui's glasses only glinted.

"I-It's not the s-same, senpai-taichi." The auburn girl took one and bit on it.

"It's really delicious." She commented.

"Lettuce cookies!" A voice exclaimed from the stairs. Everyone looked up. It's Satsuki Kiyomi-san. In a flash, they noticed her already in front of Noriko, taking a piece of the light green cookies and popping one in her mouth.

"Delicious!"

They all sweatdropped. Minutes ago, she was very asleep upstairs. But now, she's so bubbly just by seeing that cookie. Noriko and Yoshiro just chuckled.

"We've baked your favorite."

Kiyomi brightly smiled. "Thank you Auntie, Uncle!"

"Ohayou, minna!" She greeted the others.

"Have you tried the cookies?"

Silence.

"No one did." Sakuno answered her.

"Eh? Why not? They are super delicious! And, And! It melts on your mouth!"

"They looked like Inui Juice." Eiji sighed.

"Inui Juice? You mean the infamous horrible juice that makes you regulars faint? How are they similar? I mean, Auntie's lettuce cookies tasted better! I haven't tried that juice but I assure you these cookies are different than that. Ne, Sakuno-chan?"

The auburn girl nodded.

"Horrible? My juice is not that horrible." Inui muttered in the background.

"Try one." Kiyomi showed them the cookies, now on a plate. Fuji was the first to taste one.

"She's right. It's delicious." He said.

"But Fuji-senpai has weird taste buds."

"Did anyone say something?"

"It's nothing Fuji." Taka nervously laughed.

"So.. Want to try one?"

"O-Okay then, ~nya." It really took forever for Neko Eiji to pop the sweet treat in his mouth. Well, in the Regulars' eyes, that is.

"Oh! Yomi-chan's right. It's really delicious ~nya. Melts on your mouth. Reminds me of a fruit shake in different flavors with a mixture of vanilla flavor and marzipan taste."

Soon, every other took a bite, complimented how good it tastes, and resumed on eating the forgotten waffles.

"See? It's not that bad. After all, they are my favorite treats in this village." Kiyomi laughed.

"Favorite?" Eiji questioned.

Kiyomi nodded with a bright smile. "Uhn! Whenever I visit here in the past, Auntie always bakes me Lettuce Cookies. I grew to like them a lot. It's the only reason why I love going back here when I was young." She rubbed the nape of her neck out of embarrassment.

"You're so cute ~nya!" Eiji said as he jumped at her and landed to her lap.

"Awww.. And I thought I can glomp you."

Kiyomi chuckled, a pink hue is visible on her cheeks.

"You're cute too, Eiji-kun."

The redhead felt his cheeks suddenly warming up. Sure, he'd hear that a lot of time from his fangirls, filled with so much admiration (it's scary sometimes) but not from a _non-fangirl_ like the young witch. It feels…how should he say this? It feels…nice, bringing up a brand new feeling inside him.

"What's wrong, Eiji-kun? Did I say something wrong? You seemed frozen on the spot." Kiyomi began stroking his fur in a comforting manner. Neko Eiji shifted to be more comfortable.

"Nothing ~nya. A thought just passed by. Ahahaha.." He nervously laughed.

_/ It's so soft. Awww. If only…Eiji-kun can be like this fore- /_ Kiyomi shook her head.

_/ What am I thinking! That's so selfish of me. /_ She sighed.

The pink cat formed an inward sly grin while his face formed a deep thinking face afterwards.

_/ I'm glad I became a cat. Ehehehe. Yomi-chan's so fun to be with. I wonder how long I'll be like this, though. How long doesn't….wait….Did I just thought of that? My brain's getting weirder ~nya. / _

"Those two looked like they have their own world, and we're not part of it." Inui observed.

"You're right, Inui. Hmm… How about let's make an experiment later? I know they already have feelings for each other but not _yet_ that _feeling_. We can make that come out or in other words, develop." Fuji stated.

"We will let that ascend." Inui grinned.

"Of course." Fuji chuckled.

"Ohayou." Ryoma suddenly came into view, munching on some waffles. His expression is slightly displeased.

"Ah! O-Ohayou, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno greeted him, startled at first.

"H-How long have y-you been there?" She asked.

"Just now." The tennis prince simply replied. He then groaned as he put a cookie on his mouth.

"You don't like the food?"

"Japanese breakfast is better."

"I can ask Auntie to-"

"Cook me some tomorrow." He said, more like demanded though.

"H-Hai."

/ Ryoma-kun wants me to cook breakfast for him. I'm so happy! /

"Finally awake, Echizen?" Momoshiro grinned.

"Ohayou, Momo-senpai." Came his non-enthusiastic reply.

The room crowded with cheerfulness when Ryoma finally completed the picture. Auntie and Uncle were just sipping their coffee when another Momoshiro vs Kaidoh fight resurfaced. They just ignored them, munching cookies and waffles in the process. Oishi tried to restrain them again but Taka was added, thanks to Fuji who just smiled _innocently _on what he had done. Inui was sitting on of the couches, writing down data of the food present, from their tastes to their appearances. Ryoma slightly scowled at the far end, still displeased. Sakuno, though, is happily dipping the waffle bits on her coffee and then eating it afterwards. Kiyomi on the other hand, still continues to eat her ever-so-favorite Lettuce cookies while Neko Eiji lies on her lap in a very cat-like manner. Tezuka just sipped his tea in a very-silent manner.

"We'll collect the ingredients after breakfast. Okay, everyone?" The young witch said in a loud, informing voice.

"Ingredients?" Almost everyone asked in confusion.

"Don't tell me you forgot already?" She facepalmed.

"We came here to turn Eiji-kun back to normal, you know."

"Oh…Ahahahaha. I guess we've been having so much fun." Momoshiro said.

"It almost felt like Kikumaru-senpai is really a cat in the first place." Ryoma stated.

"What's that supposed to mean ~nya!"

"Hmmm.. So he's the one who needed the potion, huh. May we see the list of ingredients, Kiyomi?"

The young witch snapped her two fingers, which instantly brought a floating piece of paper in front of them.

"That's good, Kiyomi-chan. You've finally done the snapping spell." Noriko said.

"I-Iya. Just in the Realm. I can't do it in the Human World. Kiyomi rubbed the back of her head.

"You should really practice more." Her Auntie reminded.

Uncle Yoshiro took the floating paper and read its contents. Auntie Noriko also peeked on it.

"You can make the potion here." She said.

"R-Really?" Kiyomi asked.

"Of course, sweetie. We won't mind."

"Arigatou!" The young witch hugged Noriko.

"You're in luck, dear. Some of these are already here in the house."

"Which?"

"The salt, water, and the Lapis Lazuli powder. Though, we have to bath the Lapis Lazuli gem in the light of a full moon and then pulverized it."

"Yay! That will surely help a lot, Uncle. Ne, ne… Can you tell us where the others can be found? I'm not that familiar with the Realm anymore."

"Don't worry, Kiyomi. It's been awhile since you've visit. That's natural. So..where shall we begin? Hmmm.. The icy silver berries and the Fluile flower are in Cascade de Glace Mountain. The petals of mandragora flower, Fafnir's teeth can be found in Gemma le Charme Kytheria. That Elanor flower's nectar and turmeric leaves are near the Crystal Pentacle Lake which was near the Aeithalis Rainbow Forest. Those petals of a thorn-less rose and Vasuki's scales can be found in Aeithalis Rainbow Forest."

"I'm sure Sakuno-chan will gladly accompany you." Auntie smiled.

"Hai." Sakuno responded.

"Achooo." A little sneeze came from the pink cat who just rubbed his nose.

"You've caught a cold, Eiji?" Oishi asked worriedly. His other teammates also looked at him.

"It's nothing ~nya. Maybe someone's just talking about me." He grinned before letting out another small sneeze.

"It's nothing ~nya." He reassured them. The young witch reached for Eiji's forehead.

_/ He doesn't seem to have a fever. / _

"I'm fine, Yomi-chan."

She smiled.

_/ He's really bubbly and energetic, and friendly too. / _

The young witch blushed at the thought. She immediately shook her head.

_/ I think I need to freshen up. / _

After that thought, she went upstairs without a word.

"Kikumaru-senpai, what did you do?" Kaidoh asked with 'fssshhh' afterwards.

"I didn't do anything ~nya." Neko Eiji's eyebrows knitted in puzzlement.

"So why does Satsuki-san looks upset?" Inui questioned.

"I…I don't know." The pink cat sat up and then looked down.

"Maybe you said something that made her upset." Ryoma stated in a monotone voice.

"I didn't…"

"Where are you going, Eiji?" Fuji asked.

"To Yomi-chan."

"Just leave her be for awhile, Kikumaru-kun." Noriko advised.

"I'll go check on her." Sakuno went upstairs immediately.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Knock. Knock.<em>**

"Yomichan-senpai?"

The door opened a little.

"What is it, Sakuno-chan?" Came the voice of Kiyomi who just came out from the bathroom.

"Daidyobou ka?" The auburn girl entered the room.

The young witch laughed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I just washed my face. It's kinda hot, don't you think?"

Sakuno sighed in relief. "I-I thought you're crying here or something, senpai."

"Crying? Naze?"

"Never mind."

"A-anou."

The two of them heard a voice from the door.

"E-Eiji-kun."

"I-I think… I'll go downstairs, senpai-taichi. I heard Auntie needs me. Ahaha." Sakuno nervously laughed before she exited the room.

Neko Eiji went inside the room when his kouhai left. Kiyomi and him just sat on the floor mat, an uncomfortable silence followed.

"A-Are you o-okay, Yomi-chan?" The pink cat scratched his cheek due to uneasiness.

The young witch smiled. "Huh? Of course I'm alright. Why?"

"Gomen ne… I… think I'd upset you ~nya."

"Why are you apologizing? I didn't get upset."

"But you really looked upset when you left earlier ~nya"

"I'm not. Maybe, mood swings or because of the heat. Ehehehe."

" Yokatta! Ne, Ne.. Let's tour the village ~nya!"

She chuckled. "Yes, of course."

"~nya. Let's go downstairs." Neko Eiji rubbed his head to her leg.

"Hai. Hai." She answered him, bending down to pick him up.

"Ne, minna! Let's have a look around the Village! We'll just collect the ingredients later on." Kiyomi announced when they both reached the living room.

_/ She's not upset anymore. / _

"Demo, senpai. We don't have any other clothes."

"The wardrobe has anything what you need, just ask it." Noriko informed.

**-Room 1-**

"Go ask it, Inui." Taka nudged.

The data man sighed.

"Fine. But, it's good data. You're quite uneasy with the talking." He lightly chuckled.

"Inui." Tezuka said in a warning tone.

"Fssshhhh."

"Hai. Hai."

**-Room 2-**

"It feels weird to talk to a wardrobe." Oishi commented.

"Noriko-san said we have to ask it." Fuji said.

"Go ask it, Echizen." Momo pushed the tennis prince in front of the wooden wardrobe.

"Why me?" Ryoma whined.

"Because you're our kouhai." Momoshiro laughed.

"That reason doesn't even make sense." Ryoma mumbled.

**-Room 3-**

"How about me? Do I have to put clothes on, too?" Neko Eiji asked his two companions.

"Of course, senpai." Sakuno replied.

"Here, that will do." Kiyomi tossed a shirt on his direction.

The pink cat just stared at it. "How should I put this on ~nya?"

"I'll help." Sakuno volunteered.

"I'll be downstairs." Kiyomi said.

"Ne, Ryuzaki-chan. Did I do something wrong? Yomi-chan seems upset to me." Neko Eiji asked sadly when the young witch finally exited the room.

"Mood swings, Kikumaru-senpai. It's hot today." Sakuno reasoned.

"It doesn't look like that ~nya." The cat frowned.

"Don't wory, I know she won't avoid you." Sakuno smiled a closed-eyed one.

"O-Okay."

"Arigatou, Ryuzaki-chan." Eiji thanked the auburn girl when she had finished dressing him up.

"Welcome. Ne, can I ask you something senpai?"

"Anything ~nya."

"What if for example a friend of yours, which is a girl, confessed to you? I mean, she told you that she likes you. Will you accept her feelings or simply reject her?"

"E-Eh? I don't know. If I like her back, of course, I won't reject her feelings. But, if I do reject her, we'll remain friends, that's for sure!" Eiji grinned.

Sakuno smiled. "That's good to hear, then."

"Why did you ask ~nya?"

"Nothing in particular. Just a passing random thought."

"Ne…do you like Ochibi?" Eiji asked out of the blue.

"E-Eh? W-Why's the sudden q-question?" The auburn girl blushed madly.

"Nothing in particular. Just a random thought." He mischievously grinned.

_/ Why do people keep repeating what I told them? / _

"So…what's the answer ~nya?"

"E-Eto…I….Oh! Ne..do you like Yomichan-senpai?"

"Eh? D-Don't answer my question with another question, kouhai. Tch. Tch."

"Don't avoid my question, senpai."

"I didn't avoid it," he began to scratch the side of his cheek.

"Why didn't you answer it, then?"

"You didn't answer my question, too. I was the first to ask ~nya!"

"Oi.." Kiyomi began to say as she opened the door then just stared to stare at them, tilting her head.

"You're arguing? That's odd."

Neko Eiji let out a nervous laugh, a pink hue on each side of his cheek. "It's nothing ~nya."

"Really?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"O-Of course ~nya!"

Kiyomi still had her suspicions but decided to shrug it off. "Okaaay…So….Let's go?"

"Uhn!"

"Hai ~nya!"

**-Outside the House-**

"The gross smell's gone." Neko Eiji said in relief as he sniffed the air.

"That's because you ate the Lettuce cookies. When cats eat them, they won't mind the smell of the Village anymore." Kiyomi clarified.

"Yay!"

All of them began walking by now.

"Ne, Satsuki-san." Fuji began.

"Satsuki alone is fine."

"Okay, Satsuki. You said those cookies are called Lettuce cookies, right?"

"But they don't even taste like any vegetable at all." Tezuka finished.

"It is made out of Lettuce from this village, senpais." Sakuno said.

"Exactly!" They almost replied in unison.

"The lettuce here is entirely different from the usual lettuce in the Human World, okay? In this Village, it is called Marzilla Lettuce."

"Marzilla, why?" Taka asked.

"Marzipan and Vanilla combined." Sakuno answered.

"The vegetable tastes like vanilla and smells like it. Its sap, however, is all in all marzipan syrup." Kiyomi further explained.

"So that's why the cookies tasted like that. Demo…why do they have the fruity flavor in my tongue ~nya?"

"Auntie added that."

"I see."

"They look the same." Ryoma pointed on a lettuce.

"You can smell it if you want, Ryoma-kun." Sakuno said.

"Vanilla." Ryoma said.

"Precisely!" Kiyomi exclaimed.

"Does the livelihood here center only on cultivating the lettuce?" Inui asked, looking around the vast plantation with only lettuce as the main attention.

"Hai, senpai. It's the only source of livelihood here. That's why the village is called Lettuce Village, only the Marzilla Lettuces are being harvested here."

"~nya. It's getting hot don't you think?"

"It's almost noon."

"Minna! Lunch's ready!" Auntie's voice yelled in the distance.

"Hai!"

**-An Hour After Lunch-**

"Bye Uncle! Take care!" Kiyomi shouted by the doorway.

"Wait, where is he going?" Momo asked.

"To harvest Marzilla Lettuce, what else?"

"Harvest?" Taka asked.

"It's the source of livelihood here, remember?"

"Can we accompany him ~nya?"

"What for?"

"To help?"

"You'll just cause trouble."

"Kiyomi! Stop being so rude." Noriko scolded.

"Gomen. I didn't mean that." The young witch mumbled.

"You can accompany Yoshiro if you want." Auntie smiled.

"Yay! Arigatou, Noriko-san."

"I'll stay here in the house. I'll study the potion."

"Awww… Don't break the excitement, Satsuki. Come with us." Fuji persuaded.

"Yadda."

"Kiyomi. They are guests."

"Sakuno-chan's there, ne?"

"A-Anou."

"Kiyomi." Noriko's eyes narrowed.

"Fine! Fine…Sheesh…I'll go already." Kiyomi glared at Neko Eiji.

_/ Why is did she glare at me? / _"Mood swings again?" The pink cat sweatdropped.

"H-Hai." Sakuno nervously laughed.

"Just come back by sundown." Auntie went to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>All felt a forming big sweatdrops on the back of their heads. A giant…I mean…a really giant earthworm, about the size of an average house is helping the villagers move the harvested Marzilla Lettuce in a wooden wagon. If the wagon's already full, the earthworms will proceed to move them, heading to the town.<p>

"Is that for real? An earthworm?" Taka managed to ask.

"W-Well…It's possible, right? They even have a pumpkin as a librarian." Ryoma commented.

"S-Sou." Momoshiro agreed.

"Hi, kids! What are you doing here?" Yoshiro's voice greeted them in the distance.

"They want to help you with the harvesting, Uncle."

Yoshiro chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that. Hmmm… So, you know how to harvest a lettuce?"

They all shook their heads in denial.

"Not really." Fuji said.

"Can you show us?" Inui asked, more like requested.

"Of course!"

"Harvesting Marzilla Lettuce is easy. With its loose-leaf, you pick the outer leaves as you need them. Or you can just pull up the whole plant, if you want."

"But..of course, before you harvest, you'll need some supplies for harvesting. If you told me you all will help, I should have brought several supplies."

"We can go back to the house." Oishi suggested.

"But the Lettuce might rotten later on. Kiyomi, you can do the finger snapping right?"

"What about it?"

"Make the supplies go here. It's much easier."

"But…you can do it too, Uncle."

"Tsk. Tsk. You should practice more."

"Excuses." Kiyomi mumbled in annoyance but still obliged Uncle.

"What's the supplies?"

"A knife, large towel, salad spinner, storage bags. Choose the ziploc bags."

"Fine. How many of that supplies?"

"The number of your companions plus you."

"Wait…I'm included, too?"

"Yes."

"B-But! I didn't agree to-"

"It's a good exercise for you, dear"

"Excuses."

"Just summon them already."

"Oh! Fine!"

**_Snap._**

**-Several Seconds After-**

"Now that we're all ready, hold your knives, children. Go pick your desired lettuce to harvest."

"Hai!"

"I'll show you how to get the whole plant. It's the most exciting part!" Yoshiro said before finally cutting the head of the Marzilla Lettuce in one swift motion.

"Exciting part? How so?" Inui asked. All of them were standing in front of their chosen lettuce.

"You should do it quietly."

"Why?" Neko Eiji asked in a loud voice.

Uncle facepalmed. "That will happen."

At the sound of Eiji's voice, the lettuces perked up and immediately uprooted themselves from the soil and run away.

"Marzilla lettuces are one of the Realm's hard to harvest vegetables, _when disturbed_."

"See, you'll just cause trouble." Kiyomi said to Eiji.

The pink cat pouted. "Yomi-chan, hidoi!"

The young witch just stuck her tongue out while the pink cat returned the gesture.

Uncle laughed. _/ They're like five-year olds. /_

"Each of you will get the runaway lettuces. Place them back in the soil and then harvest them."

"Excuse me, sir. But, why do we need to put them back first before harvesting?" Tezuka asked.

"The roots will die. We need that more importantly, because of them, the lettuces can be harvested again the next day."

"You harvest each day?" Oishi asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Fssh… Must be very tiring."

"Now. Now. Stop with the talking. Go get 'em!"

"I'll certainly get the lettuce before you, Mamushi!" Momoshiro yelled as he speed up in running.

"As if I'd let you, peach!" Kaidoh yelled back.

"Why does it suddenly turned out into a race or something?" Oishi sweatdrop as they all broke into a run.

"Uh, guys…Ummm.." Taka unsurely said.

"You forgot this, Taka-san!" Fuji threw him a knife.

"BURNING! YOU LETTUCE, COME BACK HERE!"

"And there he goes." Fuji chuckled.

"You know Fuji-senpai, I think you should stop being a sadist. It's becoming unhealthy."

"What are you talking about, Momo? Seeing the others is fun."

"Seeing them suffer, I presume."

"Saying something?"

"Ah..It's n-nothing. Aha…Ahahaha…Ja!" Momoshiro speed up once again.

"Oh?" Fuji smirked. His sight caught a lettuce taking its rest on a grayish stone. It seems that it's breathing hard. The tensai went to it slowly…slowly…and managed to catch it!

"Gotcha!" Fuji almost smiled triumphantly but the lettuce unexpectedly struggled violently in his grasp.

"Stop struggling!" He managed to say, but, the vegetable kept its motion and it bit his hand!

"That does it! I'll tear you to pieces!" Fuji's eyes opened and he chased after the green vegetable. If only the lettuce has mouth, I'm sure it will start shrieking by now.

Kiyomi sweatdrop. "I didn't see Fuji-kun this angry before."

"It's really scary ~nya." Eiji agreed.

**_~oOo~_**

"R-Ryoma-kun." The auburn girl also sweatdrop.

The tennis prince kept on chasing the runaway lettuce, getting dirt in the process.

"How are we going to catch this thing?" He scowled.

**-Minutes After-**

"I got this!" Neko Eiji said as he quietly neared the Marzilla Lettuce. A few meters were only left between that thing and him before he sliced the air. Wait, he sliced the air?

"It got away again?" He yelled in frustration as the lettuce leaped and leaped, looked back at him and then broke into a run.

"Huh?"

"EIJI-KUN! DUCK!" Kiyomi suddenly shouted.

The pink cat looked at her in befuddlement. What is she talking about?

"DUCK! NOW!" The young witch shouted again.

Seeing Kiyom, looking so worried like that, he does what he's told.

"DON'T MOVE!"

"WHY ~NYA?" He saw Momoshiro pointing at something behind him. He looked back, of course. What he saw made his eyes widened. The earthworm he'd seen earlier is standing in front of him, looks like it wanted to crush him.

"The earthworm? Why does it have hundreds of arms ~nya?"

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!"

"The earthworm turned into centipede." Oishi just stared at the animal in amusement, looking silly, I tell you.

"Sakuno-can help me, please. Get Eiji-kun while I distract the earthworm."

"H-Hai, senpai."

"Ready?"

"I-I think so."

The young witch smiled a reassuring smile at her auburn-haired companion. Both of them flew to the sky and went to their designated places.

"Kikumaru-senpai…Shh.." Sakuno hushed before picking up Neko Eiji and then safely flew to the where others are.

"Where's Yomi-chan ~nya?"

Sakuno pointed to a direction. His dark blue orbs followed it.

"She's talking to it?"

The auburn girl nodded. "H-Hai."

"There! He's okay now. Tch. Tch. You startled him, Eiji-kun." Kiyomi sighed.

"I think y-you should say s-sorry, senpai." Sakuno suggested.

"Me? F-Fine. Sumimasen, Earthworm-san." He apologized.

The animal just nodded in understanding as it went downtown, carrying its assigned, wooden wagon.

"Have you-" Uncle Yoshiro began.

"Good job, children. The lettuces are back to their designated areas."

"We didn't do that. They were frightened by the earthworm, I guess." Kiyomi said.

"See, that's why I reminded you to not startle them." Yoshiro chuckled.

"You didn't!" They all yelled.

Uncle laughed. "Eheheh…My bad."

The only thing to do is to let out a sigh.

**-Sundown-**

Uncle Yoshiro is still harvesting the very last Marzilla Lettuce of the day. Everyone except him is really exhausted already, either sitting tiredly on the soil or lying wearily on the same brown soil.

"Man! I'm exhausted." Momoshiro complained.

"We all are." Kaidoh said.

"I'm not helping with the harvesting ever again." Kiyomi mumbled.

Yoshiro laughed. "Now, now. You'll get your desired rests when we get home. It's almost time for dinner, anyway."

"By the way, Auntie said we need to get home by sundown. I wonder why." The young witch said.

"The night's cold breeze will immediately blow when twilight falls." Uncle answered.

"But.. The breeze blew yesterday when the night's deep." Sakuno said in wonder.

"That's because the weather in the mountain is at its winter solstice."

"The mountain is always at winter time, Uncle." Kiyomi said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Yes, that's true. But, there comes a time when the winter reaches its highest peak, which is during the winter solstice. At that time, the breeze will blow when the night is at its darkest, like yesterday."

"What really is this mountain?" Fuji asked in astonishment.

"The Cascade de Glace Mountain, the Realm's Summer Emplacement. That's what they say." Kiyomi shrugged.

"It's always winter there? Seriously?" Ryoma inquired.

"Yes, it is." Sakuno replied.

"Then why does the winter cold isn't felt during daytime?"

"Her Highness placed a barrier after the ten-meter distance from the mountain. That barrier protects this Village from the freezing cold."

"Awesome." Kaidoh mumbled.

"What's that, Mamushi?"

"Nothing, peach."

Kiyomi watched in amusement. "Those two aren't quarreling. That's odd."

"I'm sure they are just exhausted ~nya." Neko Eiji answered with a smile.

"You should review your Realm lessons, Kiyomi-chan." Yoshiro reminded the young witch.

"Hai. Hai. But, actual seeing is much better." Kiyomi answered but mumbled the last statement.

"Guys, you know, I'm really starting to feel the cold breeze." Oishi informed them.

"Uh-oh. I think we should hurry up." Sakuno said.

"Flight will make it easier to return home," suggested Uncle.

"Ehem. But we can't fly." Tezuka reminded.

"Let's summon another flying cloud, Sakuno-chan."

"H-Hai."

_Wand: Summon!_

At that instant call, their two magical wands immediately materialize. The same cloud came into view except in a pearl white color.

"Why is it white? I thought you two prefer the colorful ones." Inui said.

"It's perfect for the atmosphere." Kiyomi said.

"Why aren't you two on your Realm Clothes when doing magic?"

"There's no time for that, Uncle." Kiyomi took flight already. Everyone just stared at her. It kind of feels weird.

"What? Oh, c'mon! We're coming back already."

No reaction.

"Fine. Freeze there." The young witch continues her flying.

That did the trick. Everyone took flight immediately. Kiyomi lightly chuckled.

**-House-**

"Okaeri, minna. Eh?" Noriko greeted them but was taken aback by the sight in front of her. Everyone is lying on the living room like they're totally devoid of energy to even move a muscle.

"Yoshiro." She called in a warning tone.

"Ahehehe…They are just exhausted, dear."

"You made them harvest the lettuce?"

"T-They insisted it, okay?"

"Hmmm..Fine. You, teenagers, I'm sure you can hear me. Go upstairs. Take your rest. You all are not having any dinner for tonight."

Heads shot up at the last statement.

"I'm kidding!" Noriko laughed.

Sighs of relief echoed around the room.

"Go upstairs for awhile. Change your clothes."

"Oh…and if you want to soak for awhile, just knock three times on the bathroom door and tell it what you want to have, like for example, a miniature hot spring or something similar with that."

"Hai. Thanks, Auntie." Sakuno smiled before going upstairs with the others.

**~End of Chapter**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, another new chapter for Majo no Bouken! Yay for me! I've been rushing this new chapter. xD I want it to be posted real soon, and here it is! I hope you really have fun. Anyway...minna, I have to remind you...from this point on, maybe the future chapters will be lengthy like this. Ehehehe.. Next! I'll tell you a spoiler...Next chapter will be the searching for the first two ingredients of Animal Potion Reverse...hihi...I'm sooo excited to write about that...Until then! Matta ne~!**  
><strong>


	9. Bonus Chapter

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

_Disclaimer still applies._

* * *

><p><strong>Bonus Chapter: Some Additional Info<br>**

In the Realm, a witch will ONLY die if a forbidden spell, just the same as a curse or something, is used on him or her, and takes his or her wand in the process.

_**~oOo~**_

*When a wand is taken, a witch either becomes a normal, ordinary human with his or her memories erased, and not a bit of it will remain, OR the witch already died. The heart and soul will transfer to the other dimension, also with no memories, and will settle there for all eternity. No spell or magic can bring the witch back.

_**~oOo**_

*_Forbidden Spells _are the most powerfully destructive, deadly spells ever known. They are also considered curses by the Realm. They are written in a book that is surrounded by a very dark aura.

The book was brought into the Realm by the inhabitants of the other dimension which they used to bring chaos and destroy the Realm in the past. The ancient witches managed to throw it outside the entrance door, and seal it away for good. But, rumors say, once the entrance door is opened, the book will eventually enter the Realm on its very own will, and no one can stop it from doing so. The only way to destroy this book is to use a spell that only can be found inside it.

_**~oOo~**_

**The two doors of the Realm**

_The Official Door__ - _It is the most recognized door, and is commonly used by the witches from the Human World, back and forth_._ There are two kinds of this door. One is the door from the Human World, which is in the form of magic circle and a hanging bridge that only stands half-way. The other is the door to get out of the Realm that brings you back to the Human World. Its form is yet to be revealed.

_The Entrance Door_ - This door is used by the other dimensions to get into the Realm. It is not visible to the eye and no one knows where it really stands, except the ancient witches who managed to seal it away. Its form is also not yet known.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'm sorry to disappoint you, everyone. This is not a chapter as you can see. Ehehehe...It's just some information on the witches and stuff. Chapter Nine is yet to be written and I haven't even started yet! But, I'll try to post it next week. Thanks for the reviews and stuff! I love ya! xD

Matta ne~! Your very hugs and kisses, kawaii-witch181!


	10. Cascade de Glace Mountain

魔女の冒険 **Majo no Bouken**

**by kawaii-witch181**

* * *

><p><em>kawaii-witch181: <em>Who wants to do the disclaimer?

_Natsu:_ I do!

_Happy:_ Aye, sir!

_kawaii-witch181: _What are you doing here? And where did you come from? You're both from the other Anime Realm! Who even invited you here?

_Natsu:_ The producers said we can spend some time here.

_Erza:_ (suddenly pops and pulls the two out of the scene) What are you both up to? Lucy's sick right now.

_Natsu:_ Lucy? Why didn't you say so! (suddenly vanishes into a cloud of smoke)

_Happy:_ Wait for me, Natsu!

_Erza:_ Sorry for the trouble, kawaii-witch_-san_. (vanishes, too)

_kawaii-witch181: _Ah. I-It's fine. Bye….bye. Ehem. Who could have thought we'll have guests for this chapter. Nobody said something about this to me! Hmmpp.. Maybe, my mind's doing another twisted idea. /sighs/ Thinking about it, I've been obsessing with NatsuxLucy for awhile now, but still loyal with RyomaxSakuno pairing. You support them too, ne? Hmmm…Okay! Enough said! Oi, guys. Somebody do the disclaimer please.

_Karupin:_ Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow. Meow!

_kawaii-witch181: _Karupin? Why did you show up? The readers won't understand you, dear.

_Eiji:_ I'll translate!

_kawaii-witch181: _Since when did you get here?

_Eiji:_ (faces the readers) Karupin says, kawaii-witch181 doesn't own the Pot characters, only the OCs and the plot. The one and only Konomi Takeshi has the right to own Pot ~nya!

_kawaii-witch181: _*claps, claps* You're really into Cat language, huh."

_Eiji:_ Kiyomi-chan taught me ~nya. *grins*

_Kiyomi:_ I don't even know how to speak that language!

_Eiji:_ *sing-song voice* ~nya. ~nya.

_Kiyomi: _*mumbles* And I'm not even a cat. Tch.

_Oishi:_ Minna, time's running out.

_kawaii-witch181: _Oh! The disclaimer's so long! Thanks to you guys.

Eiji: Welcome ~nya!

Oishi: *sweatdrop* It's sarcasm, Eiji.

_kawaii-witch181: _Enough! On with the story!

_Fuji: _Fufu. It's been awhile since 'your dialogue disclaimer', and you _didn't_ include me here.

_kawaii-witch181: _Only a few seconds are left, Fuji.

_Fuji: _*dark aura*

_kawaii-witch181: _Okay, Okay. Next time, I'll include you! Ja ne! Meet you at the end of the chapter! *drags Fuji*

_Fuji:_ My, thank you. I'll be looking forward to that.

_kawaii-witch181: _*mumbles in a very, very low voice* I'm not very sure, though. Ehehehe.

_Fuji:_ Shouldn't you be dragging Eiji instead?

_kawaii-witch181: _Kiyomi already did that a minute ago. Now, now, tensai.

_Momoshiro:_ Time's up! Man, I'm itching to say that.

_kawaii-witch181: _Oi!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Recap<strong>_

Sighs of relief echoed around the room.

"Go upstairs for awhile. Change your clothes."

"Oh…and if you want to soak for awhile, just knock three times on the bathroom door and tell it what you want to have, like for example, a miniature hot spring or something similar with that."

"Hai. Thanks, Auntie." Sakuno smiled before going upstairs with the others.

_**~End**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine – Cascade de Glace Mountain<strong>

"The sun's up!" Young witch Kiyomi yawned as she looked outside the clear window. Her gaze averted to the pink cat that continuously shifted on the bed, side to side. She unconsciously smiled.

_/ Eiji-kun must be searching for my lost warmth. / _

Tomato hues crept up on her cheeks because of the sudden thought. She immediately shook her head.

"What am I thinking?" She mumbled before going downstairs.

"Kiyomi….chan…" The cat slightly snored.

**_~oOo~_**

"Ohayou, Yomichan-senpai!" Sakuno, who's wearing a cooking apron, cheerfully greeted.

"Ah, ohayou Sakuno-chan. Eh? You're cooking?"

"Uhn!"

"Why?"

"R-Ryoma-kun asked…me," the auburn girl blushed.

Kiyomi grinned before patting her kouhai's head. "Nice, Sakuno-chan. Good going,"

Sakuno just looked away.

"By the way, where are Auntie and Uncle?" Light tangerine eyes began to scan the room.

"Uncle harvests some lettuce, Auntie accompanied him. She said they'll sell it downtown afterwards, so it may take some time for them to come back and.. they told me we can leave for the mountain even if they're not yet back."

"Saa, you'll be our tour guide, then."

"D-Demo. I don't know much of that mountain."

"Maa…we can manage," Kiyomi winked.

"How many ingredients we'll be searching, senpai?"

"Only two, the icy silver berries and the Fluile petals." She read from the paper.

"That will be easy. It's only t-"

The auburn girl didn't finish her statement for noises from upstairs started to fill the house. Few seconds after, the owners descended downstairs.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, minna." Kiyomi greeted.

"Eh? Where's buchou?" Momoshiro asked.

"Senpai went for a walk earlier," Sakuno replied.

"Ohayou, Tezuka." Fuji greeted when Tezuka's silhouette appeared.

"Morning, Yomi-chan!" Neko Eiji jumped on Kiyomi, which made the young witch let out a giggle.

"Morning to you, too."

"Senpai-taichi are so lovey-dovey," Momoshiro cooed.

That made the two blushed like a crimson gem.

"WE'RE NOT!"

Unison much?

"O-Ohayou, Ryoma-kun."

"Ohayou,"

Amber eyes averted to the food present on the table: salt grilled salmon, watercress salad with ponzu dressing, rice, miso soup, boiled daikon radish, and freshly-made scooped tofu. How mouthwatering!

"Japanese food," the tennis prince mumbled, almost happily as an adjustment of cap was made.

_/ Whoa. I'm the only one in PJs here. /_ Kiyomi thought before bolting upstairs and immediately dressing up into a brightly colored sunny dress and matching flip flops. Everyone's already eating when she reached the dining room.

"Yomi-chan! I saved you a seat!" Neko Eiji said with a grin as he stood on his two feet.

"Thanks," she smiled and took her seat. The pink cat decided to settle on her lap as she eat.

"A-Anou…How's the f-food?" Sakuno asked nervously.

Momoshiro gave her a thumbs up. "So delicious, Ryuzaki-san!"

"Yes, yes, it is! Sooo delicious, Sakuno-chan! The tofu was very soft, warm, and downright buttery. Another food to add the charm,"

"T-Thank you, Momo-senpai, Yomichan-senpai." Chocolate brown orbs looked at Ryoma. The movement never left unnoticed by Eiji.

"What ya say, Ochibi?"

"Hmmm?"

"About the food!"

"Eiji! You shouldn't shout at your-"

"Delicious," Ryoma simply replied.

Neko Eiji and Momoshiro did a high five while Sakuno's face showed pure happiness.

"I'm glad you like them," Sakuno mumbled.

"Hn," the tennis prince heard her.

**-After Breakfast-**

"Guys, me and Sakuno-chan will go to Cascade de Glace. We'll get the ingredients,"

" Eh? Not with us ~nya?"

"Yes. Not with you. It's better if you're here."

"Awwww…Yomi-chan~~. It's an adventure we can't miss." The cat pouted.

"We don't even know if the Mountain is really safe. Even I, don't know that, even Sakuno-chan. And besides, you just sneezed yesterday."

"It happened yesterday. Just one sneeze. Today is a different one. And I'm not even sick ~nya,"

"No, you all are not going. End of conversation."

"Yomi-chan~~" His dark blue orbs filled with fake-ish tears.

"We can be of help," Fuji convinced.

"But..."

"We can definitely protect ourselves. That is a real man's doing, ne Echizen?" Momoshiro spoke.

"I CAN BURN THE SNOW WITH MY BURNING HEART! MOERUZE!"

The young witch sweatdropped. "Taka-san, too."

"If they're going, I might as well prevent them from unleashing more chaos." Oishi stated.

"Fsssshhhhh. A mountain will be good for training," Kaidoh suggested.

"More data will be collected. Ii data,"

"Misbehaving will be punished with laps."

Now, this statement made everyone sweatdropped even more.

"Mada mada dane, senpais. I'll protect Ryuzaki, too."

The auburn girl can turn into a ripe tomato any minute now, which made Ryoma smirked.

"Young love~" Momoshiro teased in a sing-song voice.

"Even Echizen-kun and Tezuka-san agreed," Kiyomi sighed.

"I'll protect Yomi-chan, too!" Neko Eiji declared with a serious face.

The rest snickered in the background.

"I'M SERIOUS ~NYA!"

"Mada mada dane, senpai." Kiyomi mimicked Ryoma's voice with a grin.

"D-Demo…Arigatou, ne…Knight in shining cat's armor," She pinched the cat's nose and giggled.

Neko Eiji flailed his arms wildly as heat rose up his cheeks.

"Ehehe. Eiji's blushing, ne Oishi?" Fuji observed with a grin.

"That's right," Oishi grinned, too.

"Ahahahahaha! Knight in shining cat's armor," Momoshiro rolled on the floor with howling laughter. Eiji glared at him.

"Forget what I said, senpai." He said with a nervous smile. Man, Eiji senpai can get scary if he wanted to. Wait. There's no way that can happen. Maybe cat senses are affecting the redhead. Yeah, that must be it.

"You're worst in imitation, Satsuki-senpai." Ryoma commented.

"Nobody asked your opinion!" Kiyomi spat playfully.

Merry laughters echoed around the household.

**_~oOo~_**

Kiyomi, dressed in a fluffy cream-colored winter coat, huffed in annoyance. The coat's collar and end trims were in a cute caramel shade, same with the ends of the long sleeves. Two simple, russet brown ribbons stood on the center, consecutively after another. The same russet ribbons also decorated the near end of the sleeves. Adorable white fluffy winter boots served as her footwear. She also wore a fluffy sling bag in a bittersweet orange color. A caramel-colored bandanna serves as her headband.

"I didn't actually agree about them coming with us," the young witch said in realization as she and her kouhai waited downstairs. The regulars? Oh, they're changing in thick winter outfits upstairs. I wonder if Eiji did, too. I mean, he's a cat.

"Even if you don't agree, they'll come anyway. That's senpai-taichi. Oh, they'll ride on a cloud again?"

"Not,"

Sakuno tilted her head. "Then, wha-"

The auburn girl had chosen a turtleneck type of winter coat in a coffee brown color. A single bistre brown ribbon stood on the center of the fluffy neck. Four snow-colored buttons, stood on the coat, with white laces enclosing it. Two fluffy hearts with ribbons in bistre brown on its center, served as designs on either side of the front. The end trim, as well the end of sleeves, are also in a fluffy snow color. For the footwear, a pair of moccasin type of boots in seal brown color is present; its upper part has soft fur in timberwolf color. Unlike Kiyomi, she didn't bring a sling bag with her.

"Broomsticks," a sly, wicked smile found its way across Kiyomi's lips

"D-Demo, that will be dangerous senpai. They don't know how to ride a broom, and flying them too."

"But they said they want to come with us, right?" Kiyomi has this innocent face on.

Sakuno sighed. "But, still…"

"Dai-dyou-bu! There's not even a possibility that they can die," the young witch assured.

Sakuno forced a smile. "I hope so…"

"Yo!" Fuji greeted with a smile. His wearing a simple, olive brown winter coat with a matching scarf in oxford blue. He also wore khaki pants, in cadet gray color. Simple, obsidian black leather shoes were present.

Kiyomi returned the gesture. "Hello, Fuji-kun."

_/ Why does he look like he's sparkling? What on earth? / _

"Where are the others?" She asked.

"They'll come down shortly,"

Several voices were heard descending down the stairs.

"See?" Fuji chuckled that made Kiyomi sweatdropped.

"R-Right,"

"Yomi-chan! Ka-wa-ii! You have so many fur ~nya!"

"It's part of the style, Eiji-kun."

_**~oOo~**_

All of the Regulars stood by the doorway, wearing their..uh..stylish winter outfits. Buchou, in a wenge brown winter coat, complete with tufts blue scarf with stripes design. Fukubuchou, in a palatanate blue winter coat and onyx black jeans; an ultramarine scarf is present on his neck and a matching pair of warm gloves on his hand. Kawamura, in a jonquil yellow jacket and mantis green jogging pants; complete with a black-ish scarf on his neck. Inui, dressed in a sunglow yellow fluffy jacket and powder blue jogging pants, also set with a lime green overly long scarf. Momoshiro and Kaidoh, dressed in the field drab brown colored jacket, except the Viper has a pale yellow-brown colored scarf on his neck. Ochibi, I mean Ryoma, is in a jungle green winter coat with an accompaniment of mint-colored scarf.

**_~oOo~_**

"Brooms?" Momoshiro eyes stared in disbelief in front of him.

"Yup, that will be our transportation for today."

"What about the clouds ~nya?"

"Something new is better, ne?" Kiyomi winked.

"Demo, Satsuki. We don't even know how to ride them," said Oishi.

"Trust your instincts," Kiyomi instructed with a naughty grin.

Sighs filled the atmosphere.

"C'mon. We don't have all day," She whined from the sky.

Instead of sighs, grunts now filled the atmosphere.

"It can be a good experience," said Fuji before riding a broom. It really turned out well, just perfect. But, after a few seconds, the broomstick flipped him downwards, with no warning at all.

"T-That hurts." The tensai glared which made Kiyomi laughed so hard.

"Trust your instincts and that includes your choosing of brooms,"

"Her sadistic mode is on." Sakuno sighed before soaring to the sky.

"Do I have to ride one, too?" Eiji asked.

"Yep," Kiyomi replied.

"Senpai! That's dangerous for a cat." Sakuno said.

"But collecting ingredients will be dangerous, too." The young witch replied with an innocent face.

"Heh," the tennis prince chose one broom and rode on it. He also tried soaring up. Few seconds have passed and he successfully done it without falling like the tensai.

"That's our Ochibi, ~nya!"

But, he suddenly circled the same spot again and again. Swirl. Swirl…until the broom calmly landed a few meters above the ground.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno immediately went to Ryoma who have swirling eyes because of what happened.

That made the others a _little _hesitant to ride any broomstick present.

"Awww…_The Seigaku Tennis Regulars_ are giving up already? Not fun!" Kiyomi taunted.

"Who said about giving up?" Tezuka asked in his usual stoic voice.

"Well…It looks like it," the young witch smirked.

"We're just testing the brooms." Ryoma informed her.

Kiyomi's grin widened.

**-Seconds After-**

"Faster, will you? We don't have all day!"

The Regulars, of course, still have their difficulty on riding their respective broomsticks. Though, Fuji managed to remain fine for a few minutes but will again wiggle in the air. Oh, not to mention Neko Eiji rode on the same broom with Fuji. On his very first try, really, the REMAINING broomstick didn't like him. At all. He even has to chase it around. Sitting on the ground in defeat, the tensai offered his broomstick for him.

_"We can ride it together,"_

_"You're a life saver, Fujiko!" The pink cat said with teary eyes._

"Ne, Yomi-chan. Are these brooms tutors too, like Broom-chan and Usagi-chan?" Eiji asked.

"Nope. These are only meant for transportation and they can't even talk,"

"Oh,"

"Riding broomsticks for the first time might develop into motion sickness." Inui noted.

The young witch rolled her light tangerine eyes. "Whatever, Inui."

**-Cascade de Glace Mountain-**

"Brrr…It's cold ~nya," Eiji shivered as all of them descended from their rides. Their feet calmly walked from that point on, the broomsticks returned to the Lettuce Village after it gave them their ride.

"Why didn't you put on any winter clothes, Eiji?" Oishi scolded.

"I-I can help, s-senpai." Sakuno offered a hand.

_Wand: Summon!_

The auburn girl chanted._  
><em>

_"Amidst the mist and coldest frosts_

_Of thee clothing warmth has lost,_

_What use is a frock of thy hue? _

_Make it right in an attire that's new."_

"There, all done!" The auburn girl formed a closed eyed smile.

"Arigatou, Ryuzaki-chan~!" Neko Eiji looked at himself. He wore a kind of bunny jacket, complete with the artificial small tail and bunny ears._  
><em>

"Demo, why in a bunny-like jacket?" He asked.

Sakuno let out a nervous laugh.

"Because, I insisted it to give you the most cutest cat clothing!" Kiyomi giggled oh-so-sweetly.

"It looks good FOR a girl," Eiji insisted.

"Awwww. Don't be like that. Ka-wa-ii!"

Neko Eiji just sighed.

"Ne, Satsuki. Where'd you get that map?" Taka asked in curiosity.

"Oh? This? The broomsticks left it for me. Though, it took them awhile to rearrange the pieces."

"Pieces?" Kaidoh questioned.

"Hai, they torn them apart to make it easier to bring,"

Odd looks where directed at her. The Realm sure is a weird place.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan. Do you know where these stood?" Kiyomi showed her kouhai the map. Two large X's are seen at it. Each has quite a distance to each other.

"Only this one, not the other," Sakuno pointed at one of the X's, located on the right side.

"What should we do?" Kiyomi pouted.

"Maybe we can ask someone," Ryoma suggested.

"Ask? But, Echizen-kun…No people or witches are living here."

"Why does that sounds like a creepy statement?" Momoshiro whispered in a very hushed tone.

"Why are you whispering ~nya?" Neko Eiji asked him.

"You're whispering too, Eiji-senpai." The spiky haired sophomore said to him.

Kiyomi broke their segment. "Stop whispering, okay? You two are giving me goose bumps."

"But, it's cold."

"That doesn't have anything to do with your whispering,"

"Shouldn't we search for the ingredients?" Tezuka questioned.

"Yes, captain. Of course," Kiyomi playfully did a salute, chuckling at her own actions.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan. Lead the way, ne?"

"H-Hai," The auburn girl shyly smiled.

**_~oOo~_**

"We'll since we are here; the Fluile bush will be the nearest." Kiyomi said as she scanned the map.

"Ne, Ryuzaki-chan. Can't we ask any enchanted thing here? I mean, I'm sure they're magical in a way ~nya."

"Kirameki-san is the only thing I know here," Sakuno replied to the pink cat.

"Oh, her. She despises humans, right?" Kiyomi said, earning horror looks from the Regulars.

She chuckled. "I'm kidding. Doesn't like is the best phrase,"

"You think she knows?" Her gaze averted to the auburn girl.

"T-Think so,"

"Kirameki-san!" Sakuno called.

A few minutes have passed, still no sign of the said person.

"Maybe she's busy," Kiyomi heaved a sigh.

"You called, dearest Sakuno-chan?" A tea rose-colored starfish with feathery wings hovered above them.

"Kirameki-chan! Kawaii!" Eiji's eyes sparkled.

The pink cat earned a glare in response. "Nobody calls me ANY pet names,"

Eiji sweatdropped. "Sumimasen." He backed away a bit.

"Kiyomi-kun," the starfish went to the mint green-haired lady.

"I told you not with the –kun," she sweatdropped, too.

"But it's perfect."

"-chan is perfect too ~nya!"

The starfish seriously glared hard.

"Oiishiii!" The pink cat immediately took cover behind his doubles partner.

"You, what are you humans doing here? I can't believe Her Majesty and the tutors still allowed you here." Kirameki-san said, voice filled with malice.

"Uh, we're sorry for the intrusion?" Oishi attempted.

"Nonsense!"

"C-Calm down…Kirameki-san," Sakuno pleaded.

The sea-like animal let out a puff of air.

"I'm the one to blame. I'm the one who brought them here," Kiyomi said.

"Oh? Forget it."

"Weird," Ryoma mumbled.

"Nani!"

"Anyway! Kirameki-san…" The auburn girl started.

"Hmmm?"

"Ummm…d-do you know the location of the F-Fluile bush?" She asked.

"Of course! I know every inch of this mountain," Kirameki-san beamed proudly.

"Sooo…Can you accompany us? I mean….You see…I really need the Fluile petals," Kiyomi trailed off.

"Fine, just watch your steps. Any mistake, crystal outcome," the starfish warned.

"She means you'll turn to ice." Kiyomi explained to the others.

"But…It's already freezing cold." Inui said.

"Enough to freeze us," Kaidoh agreed.

Sakuno shook her head. "Several more degrees are needed."

"Ne, Tezuka. I think I heard you like mountain climbing," Fuji said, starting a conversation.

"I do," Tezuka replied.

"Want to climb this mountain?" The tensai suggested.

"The weather's not appropriate. Accidents might happen," buchou firmly said.

"Too bad, ne?"

"Fuji-kun!" The young witch halted him from taking another step forward.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Pool of Ice,"

"Might get frozen," The starfish added.

"Sankyuu," the tensai smiled.

_/ The smile's different from the usual. It seems more real. /_ Kiyomi thought.

**_~oOo~_**

"Watch your step, the path's getting steeper at this point on." The starfish reminded them.

"Well…it's a mountain," Taka said.

Kirameki-san glared at him. "Not just that. Ehem. Some creatures might attack us,"

"ATTACK?" The mother hen half-yelled at the word.

If only the sea-like animal has eyes, I'm sure it will roll them by now.

"Selfish and territorial,"

"Oh, but still…" Oishi was in worried mode again.

"C'mon, Oishi! We'll definitely survive ~nya!" Kikumaru assured.

"SURVIVE!"

"Stop yelling mother hen!" Kirameki also half-yelled due to irritation.

_/ Humans are REALLY weird. /_ It shook the upper arm of its body disk.

Kiyomi sweatdrooped. "Soooo….what's guarding the uh…Fluile bush, Kiramki-chan?"

The sea-like animal glared at her, she just shrugged it off. "Nipsies and an astrid,"

"Astrid?" Momoshiro asked.

"Nipsies?" Ryoma followed.

"What exactly are those?" Even Inui,

"Seems like trouble. Yudan sezou ni ikou," Tezuka advised.

* * *

><p><em>"Let me explain." Broom-chan once again replaced the screen.<em>

_"Ehem," She started, reading from a book she's holding. A picture of an astrid behind her._

**_"As what Kirameki said earlier, astrids are one of the guardians of the Fluile bush. An astrid is a large, golden owl that is very selfish and extremely territorial. It doesn't want any living being near its territory. It shoots beams of sunlight to their opponents, once you'll get hit by that, you'll be frozen."_**

_"Why beams of sunlight ~nya? It can be ice instead, right?" Chibi Neko Eiji asked in curiosity._

_"Does it look like I know? Maybe it's because they are obsessed with sunlight," Kiyomi answered with a shrug._

_"So what are nipsies?" Ryoma asked this time._

_Usagi-chan also invited herself here and decided to tell the information._

**_"Nipsies are the smallest of the fairy folk, closely related to brownies, but are only a quarter inch tall. They are completely powerless and don't have any magical power in them."_**

_"Then how come they are guarding the Fluiles?" Fuji questioned._

**_"Even if they can't use any magic, they can set up venomous plants and the likes for traps. Actually, they can create anything with the help of the natural resources. Astrids are very good friends with the fairy folk since the day they met._**

_"My friend was once bitten by one of the traps set by the nipsies. She went limping for a week," Sakuno informed them, who only responded her with a shudder._

* * *

><p>"Do we have to fight them or something?" Kiyomi asked.<p>

"Maybe just the astrid," Kirameki replied.

The young witch sighed. "Ingredients are very troublesome to collect. Why can't we just buy them on stalls?"

"High quality and functional ingredients can only be obtained by searching them yourselves."

"Why's that?" Inui interrogated.

"Some may be fraud," Sakuno said.

"Wait, Echizen." Kiyomi suddenly halted.

The auburn girl's eyes started to widen. "Not a step forward, Ryoma-kun."

"Why?" Ryoma asked.

"Traps. We already arrived." The sea-like animal simply said.

"We already know that," said Fuji.

"Don't go starting on me, brunette."

The tensai just chuckled.

"But….they look like normal plants," Momoshiro stated.

"Venomous plants," corrected Kirameki.

"I'm sure we can find a blank spot to pass or to step on," Taka nervously suggested.

"That would be impo-" The starfish was cut off.

"Momoshiro!" Oishi shouted.

The dunk smasher jumped at the wide space between the plants. For a few seconds, nothing happened, just the blowing of the winter frost wind.

"See? Normal plants, senpai-taichi." He said. As soon the words left his mouth, the normal floras sprung to life; getting closer to him, writhing and snapping repeatedly. Very tiny voices began to giggle.

"Uh….guys?" Momoshiro nervously said.

"Humans are really troublesome," the starfish stated.

"What carelessness, Momoshiro." Tezuka said.

"Stop talking calmly! I might die here!" The spiky haired lad said, panic evident in his voice.

"It's your fault in the first place. Fsssshhhhh,"

"Nani? You picking a fight?"

"Sakuno-chan, Momo-kun needs help." Kiyomi said to the auburn girl.

"Just call me Momo, senpai!" Momoshiro shouted from his distance which made Kiyomi to sweatdropped.

"Dance! My wind!"

As soon the words left the auburn girl's mouth, a gust of wind instantly blew by, lifting Momoshiro out of the plants' coming grasp.

"You can control the wind?" Oishi's jaw was on the verge on dropping down.

Sakuno shyly nodded, "H-Hai."

"I thought witches can only chant spells, not totally control the elements." Fuji said.

"Yes, all witches do that. But, at each generation, there are four chosen witches that can control the four elements: fire, water, earth, and wind. Sakuno-chan is the one controlling the wind," Starfish explained.

"So you mean you can create storms?" Momoshiro asked in excitement.

"Don't be stupid, peach. Creating storm needs rain," Kaidoh stated.

"I know that, Mamushi! What I mean by storm is a tornado!"

"Ah…a-anou….I c-can't create that much…It's very tiring senpai, especially in the human world." Sakuno replied.

"Practice makes perfect," the tennis prince simply said in advice.

"And besides, controlling the weather is bad, too. You can't just interrupt the nature's doing without consequences." Kiyomi added.

"Like for example…stopping the rain, which is very associated with water, may lead to much stronger rain the next day," Kirameki explained further.

"Who'll get the petals?" Ryoma asked out of a sudden.

All eyes turned to him.

"Well…he has a point,"

"I can do it," Kiyomi volunteered.

"It's dangerous, Kiyomi-kun." Kirameki stated.

"I know how to get the petals,"

"But you don't know how to deal with an astrid!"

"I can come ~nya,"

"Not even a cat."

Neko Eiji pouted.

"Momo, you think you can accompany me?"

"Ah…I-I guess so, senpai."

"Why the spiky peach?" The sea-like creature asked.

"Hey!" Momoshiro protested by his name.

"I think he'll do just fine."

"That's not the point!" Kirameki sighed.

"Just get the attention of the astrid and I'll get the petals. Simple as that."

"Oi!"

"It will be alright, Kirameki-chan. Sakuno-chan will help us, ne."

"Hmmmp. I want to come to ~nya."

"It's impossible for a cat like you," Kirameki said.

"I'll come,"

"NO!"

"I will!"

"NO!"

"Enough, you two. Fine…you can come with us, Eiji-kun." Kiyomi agreed in defeat.

"Yay!" Neko Eiji stuck his tongue out at the sea-like creature.

"We can ride on a cloud, right?" Momoshiro asked.

Kirameki shook her 'head'. "Some of the plants can soar high up the air. With Ryuzaki-chan here, I'm sure you'll be safe. Dodging plants even in mid-air might be difficult, though."

"Satsuki-senpai can fly, right? Why need Sakuno's assistance?" Ryoma interrogated.

"We're doing safety measures," Kirameki simply said.

"Ummmm…Are you really sure you'll do just fine ~nya?" Neko Eiji asked with worry.

"Hai!" Sakuno replied with her known enthusiasm.

"Really?" Kiyomi questioned this time.

"Uhn!"

The young witch narrowed her light tangerine eyes before letting out a sigh. "Fine. Thanks, Sakuno-chan,"

"I'll hold on to Eiji-senpai," Momoshiro said

"Sure, suite yourselves," Kiyomi replied.

"I'm so excited! I can finally see an astrid! Yay for me! Oh and a fluile petal, too! Another yay for me! Kyaaaa~!" She soon shouted with enthusiasm and excitement.

The rest felt a large sweatdropped forming on the side of their heads.

"Yomi-chan's so cheerful ~nya." Eiji commented.

"So….we'll just wait here?" Taka asked.

"Of course! No roaming around!" Starfish warned.

"Sakuno-chan, shall we?" Kiyomi nudged.

"H-Hai,"

"Lift them up, onegai." The auburn girl concentrated.

"Yomichan-senpai, you know what to do."

The witch, spiky-haired, and the pink cat floated above the plants. Sakuno looked like a puppet master, controlling the three of them except without the strings.

"Here come the plants!" Momoshiro yelled. Little voices once again began giggling continuously as the plants come to them.

"Okay! I'll yell the directions. Go! Right! Left! Clockwise round!" Kiyomi instructed in mid-air.

The plants, however, seem to become a very cruel antagonist in a movie, writhing and snapping to block their way and slow them down. Fortunately, Sakuno-chan made very fluent controls with the bodies of her senpais.

"Dodge. Down. Up. Left! Counter-clockwise left!" The young witch once again instructed.

"You can become a good puppet master, Ryuzaki-chan." Fuji commented.

"A-Arigatou, Fuji-senpai."

At this time, the tiny giggling voices finally died down, finally giving up. Their plants didn't do much guarding for today. They really have to strengthen once again their traps. Surely next time, no one shall get pass their traps! Now, it's all up to the astrid.

A tiny nipsy with golden fairy dust following her trail, stood in front of Neko Eiji. It started pulling his whisker repeatedly.

"I-Ittai! That hurt, ~nya!" The pink cat spat. Momoshiro started shoo-ing the tiny fairy folk which instantly flew away, sticking its tongue out at them.

"I thought nipsies can't fly," Inui mumbled.

"That's right, they can't. But their companion astrid gave them some fairy dust." The starfish explained.

"Wait, how did you know that? I know you're not the one to know much information about some magical creatures."

Inui adjusted his square-like glasses. "My grandmother once told me about them,"

The sea-like creature raised an imaginary eyebrow. "Fairy tales much?" It mumbled.

"Being a puppet can be so much fun!" Kiyomi squealed.

"Oi! Watch out!" Oishi warned.

"Astrid!" Tezuka also warned.

Neko Eiji is starting to have swirling eyes. "An astrid is half of our size, ~nya."

Just like what Eiji described, the astrid is half of their size. Few golden feathers were fluttering around it as it walked to them.

"The petals!" Kiyomi has her sparkling eyes once again once she saw the petals.

"Oi, senpai!" Momo called out.

"Just slow it down for awhile, I'll get the petals." The young witch broke into a hurried run while taking the hand-sized bottle from her small bag.

"But…How do we slow it down ~nya?" Eiji practically yelled.

"Just draw its attention or something!" Kiyomi yelled back.

"Ah…okay…But! How?"

"Just run around! Imagine it's just like training for stamina," Fuji shouted at his distance.

Momoshiro and the pink cat started their fast runs, as if their lives depended on it. Neko Eiji kept on running with his two feet.

"I…It's s…so…hard…..to run….~nya…" The pink cat panted.

"Senpai, try with your four paws," Momoshiro suggested.

"Oh? That's right!" Neko Eiji grinned that make the dunk smasher sweatdropped.

_/ It just crossed his mind? /_

**-Fluile Bush-**

"Shouldn't touch…Broom-chan said I shouldn't touch the petals," Kiyomi mumbled repeatedly, holding out the bottle before the glowing gold-ish orange petals. The petals voluntarily went inside the bottle.

"Ohh…Adorable!" Kiyomi squealed once again.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"The Fluile Bush is the only one of its kind in the mountain. Once every full moon, its glowing flowers began to bloom, which takes a week for them to wither. Actually, the said flowers are just petals arranged in a 'flower' manner; in the distance it creates an illusion of a flower."<em>**

_Kirameki-chan explained, as the screen shifted, zooming up to the Fluile Bush._

**_"Once the petals are touched, they will instantly wither, but holding a bottle onto it will do just fine. They will go inside in their own will._**

* * *

><p>"Asking permission first is the best manners," A voice said from above her which made the young witch to look up. An astrid sitting above the bush, greeted her gaze.<p>

"A-Astrid," She nervously said.

"Woo…" The astrid greeted her.

"U-umm…w-who?" Kiyomi imitated its sound.

"T-They are two astrids? I thought only one is guarding the bush," Kaidoh said.

"Supposedly," Kirameki replied to him, its eyes never leaving the young witch Kiyomi.

"You know, violating such manners may lead to punishment." The astrid said to Kiyomi.

"G-Gomenasai…I just need these petals…and…the other specie of yours is kind of scary.." Kiyomi trailed off.

"Hmmm…well…Oyaji is really scary for me...but he's still caring." The astrid said.

"Oyaji? That was your father? So that's why your size is different from him,"

"Yes, I'm still young. That's why, he is the most known guard of this bush. I'm just like an apprentice or something. If I grew up just like him, I'll be the one guarding this bush." The young astrid informed her.

"Oooh…Well…uh…I wish you luck?" The young witch started her backward steps.

"Tch. Tch. You're not yet allowed to go, missy."

Kiyomi pouted which made the young astrid chuckle.

"So…what will I do to be allowed to go?" She asked.

"Hmmm…since you finally got the petals, and I'm the one guarding this bush just for today….how about taking me for sight-seeing?" Young astrid offered.

Kiyomi's jaw nearly fell down. "S-Sight-seeing? You're an owl; you can surely sight-see whenever you want,"

The young golden owl sadly frowned. "Dad does that. But for me, I can only do that when I finally became an adult. Oyaji doesn't want me to leave this place, that's what the traditions say for young astrids like us."

Kiyomi formed a cheerful smile. "Okay then. You can come with us. But only within this mountain."

"R-Really? Of course just within this mountain…I won't go with you after you left Cascade de Glace."

"Alright," ^_^

"Satsuki-senpai! A little help here!" Momoshiro yelled, the older astrid still running after him and Neko Eiji. Its sunlight beams looked like a dangerous bullet continuously shooting.

Kiyomi nervously laughed. She almost forgot about the two of them.

"Oyaji! They meant no harm! They even asked permission about the Fluile petals and offered me for sight-seeing!" Young astrid yelled.

The older golden owl halted immediately and went to his son.

"You'll sight-see with this bunch of humans?" It asked with disbelief.

"Hai, you never asked me to go sight-seeing with you so I asked them in exchange for the petals ~woo."

Older astrid sighed. "Fine. Just this once, I'll allow you for your dream of sight-seeing."

"Thanks, dad!" Young astrid beamed a smile.

"But," his father halted. The younger one sighed.

"Hai?"

"One nipsy will accompany you,"

"Okay!" The young astrid once again smiled.

Kiyomi, Momoshiro, and Eiji paused to hear the conversation of an astrid and a nipsy. They were speaking in an unknown language that the three of them don't understand. They saw the little nipsy shook its head angrily that earned a glare from the young astrid. Few seconds after, the nipsy managed to nod her head and formed a tiny smile. Eiji assumed it finally agreed going with them. And he was right! The next time he knew, they were face to face with their companions and teammates, giving them warm victorious smiles and welcoming back gestures, as well as praising them for a job well done. It looks like they just won a war or something.

Young witch Kiyomi warming-ly smiled.

* * *

><p><em>kawaii-witch181: <em>There! The chapter's done! Whew! I'm exhausted already.

_Inui: _Nice job, kawaii-witch_-san_.

_kawaii-witch181: _Drop the –san. It's confusing with so many hyphens.

_Inui: _Okay.

_Natsu:_ *shows up* LUCE! Why didn't you tell me you're sick?"

_Lucy:_ *cough, cough, sneeze* Just a cold. Not something worse, Natsu.

_Natsu:_ *leans closer, eyes softening* You have a fever.

_kawaii-witch181: *captures the moment with a camera borrowed from Fuji* _Fufufu. NaLu fans will be so happy! Thanks for the reward, you two! *vanishes*

_Lucy:_ Who's that? Another mage friend of yours?

_Natsu:_ Yep. We just met, though. She even invited me to her disclaimer scene.

_Lucy:_ I bet you're not even invited.

_Natsu:_ That's mean, Luce.

_Lucy:_ *chuckles* Oyasumi, Natsu.

Natsu: *forming a toothy grin* Night, Luce.

_Kiyomi:_ Enough with the Fairy Tail segment.

_kawaii-witch181: _Missing Eiji, perhaps?

_Kiyomi:_ *blushes* Who said I missed him?

_kawaii-witch181: _You really miss him! Fufufu!

_Sakuno:_ See you on the next chapter, minna!

_kawaii-witch181: _Oi! I'm not done yet, Sakuno-chan.

_Sakuno:_ Time's running out, kawaii-witch_-san._

_kawaii-witch181: _Everybody's saying that!

_Fuji:_ I'll be looking forward for the disclaimer. *waves*

_Tezuka: _*holds out a sign that reads: Matta ne!*

_kawaii-witch181: _Why can't Tezuka speak?

_Inui: _Fuji poured a potion-like-liquid in Tezuka's drink earlier. He's experimenting, I guess.

_Tezuka: _*another sign said: FUJI! 1,000 LAPS AROUND THE REALM!*

_kawaii-witch181: _*sweatdrops* Ja ne, minna! *waves*

_Eiji: _Wait for me! I didn't say anything yet!

_kawaii-witch181: _*tongue out* No time left. By the way, Kiyomi's looking for ya.

_Kiyomi:_ No, I'm not!

_kawaii-witch181: _Lovebirds! *heart, heart, sparkle, sparkle* Speaking of Lovebirds, I found a very suitable song for Kiyomi and Eiji. I think that will be their theme song. Just visit my profile; the link is there, including the English translation. Please do listen, ne? Oh! And I included the links for their winter clothes and the Realm's moon! Just look it up! Bye bye!


	11. Author's Note: Notice

_Just some quick Author's Note:_

O_O Hey-a, Readers! Just as you have noticed, I'm not updating. XD One word: Laziness. And, really. I don't know when to update. Yes, I know. Excuses. But for the time being, I'll edit the existing chapters. Grammar errors and the likes. I might change some scenes...but naaaah. That's far from reality, I think?

Anyway, I made this as an apology. Gomenasai! (^o^)

_Authoress,_

_**~kawaii-witch181**_


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